


The Emperor

by theJuniorRoyals



Series: The Hanged Man [3]
Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Criminals, M/M, Murder Mystery, casino setting, lucas is aged up a bit, mentions of jeongcheol, mentions of meanie, mentions of wonhui - Freeform, nct lucas is a character, seokmin doesnt know anything
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-10
Updated: 2018-03-10
Packaged: 2019-03-29 13:33:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 24,264
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13928151
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theJuniorRoyals/pseuds/theJuniorRoyals
Summary: 'The Emperor' tarot card definition: The appearance of The Emperor shows us that domination of the mind over the heart is sometimes necessary even though it is not wanted. In fact he should be welcomed and that is what you must think about when he appears. When hard choices must be made it's important to maintain your concentration and focus. The Emperor signals this but he also signals that now is a time you should find it easier to make hard choices. Enjoy the assertiveness and confidence that this self-control and focus brings. Forge ahead and do what you know is best. If you can master yourself then you should have little problem mastering most of the other obstacles that life throws at you.(Seokmin has seen the world with Joshua, but his mind takes no clear path with his future.)





	The Emperor

**Author's Note:**

> [description via psychic-revelation.com]
> 
> YOU MUST READ PARTS ONE AND TWO BEFORE THIS TO UNDERSTAND THE PLOT!
> 
> it is finally here! the third and final installment in this series, and while i have things to say (end notes) i would first like to thank all of the people that reached out to me on twitter to tell me how much they loved my series and supported my work! alvi, helen, sana, isa, and ilsa, thank you guys SO MUCH for supporting me i would die for every single one of you.  
> please enjoy this monster of an ending, and ill give my thanks in the end notes :3

Torrential rain is what greeted Seokmin when he cracked his eyes open. There were a few things that he noticed right away.

One, he was not in a bed. He was laying down in the backseat of a moving car which was magnifying the sound of the rain on the windows and the roof.

Two, Joshua was lying on Seokmin’s torso, head on his chest, knees bent uncomfortably behind him to fit as tight as they could into the SUV.

Three, this was not the first time he had woken up to this scenario.

He wishes he could say he has seen this less than he has. He wishes he could say the feeling of his neck cricking when he moves it because he fell asleep unsupported and on a fucking car seat was unfamiliar. He considers that the fact that if he gets to sleep in a bed for a night, it is a luxury because he is always on the move. They are always on the move. He misses the feeling of a bed. He hasn’t known that feeling for a month or two now. The closest he ever gets is really fancy limos, or first-class plane seats. Seokmin wants a still, quiet, bedroom with a soft bed that looked so goddamn inviting with the love of his life waiting for him right on top of it. The thought of that makes him shiver. That bed was at home, though. And at the rate they were travelling, they didn’t have enough time to find home.

He supposes wherever he goes, though, Joshua will always be there. Joshua will always be his home.

Seokmin’s life has been constant a back and forth between his mind and his heart. It has also been in the literal sense, due to the fact that Seokmin has grown accustomed to living like this, a different crew member a night driving down a deserted highway, Joshua glued to his hip.

He thinks about what he had done a while back many times. Whether he should have dropped Joshua, or if he made the right move. Perks to dropping Joshua weren’t the fact that he would have to deal with the gross regret that slithered along his skin every waking day, in fact many perks did not exist at all. Maybe, really, the only perk that existed was knowing he had stuck to those humane morals. Maybe it wasn’t too bad that he did this. But then he thinks. He ran away with a murderer because he successfully seduced him and convinced him to not turn him in, to housing the murderer, to turning away the law because Joshua fucking Hong rules his heart. Yes, it was bad. And Seokmin thought it was gross how he did not regret it at all.

But Joshua Hong proved to be one to always keep his promises. When they fled, Joshua kept them on the move like moving would keep him alive. They travelled to far more places than Seokmin thought he would ever see in ten lifetimes. Not for the sake of travelling, of course, but to always stay off the maps. Seokmin had to give credit where credit was due, however. Hong’s team proved to be much more sufficient than initially thought to be.

Breathing foreign air was a task proved much more difficult done than said. He followed constant orders from Joshua himself and from the team to prevent any watching eyes. Seokmin wasn’t entirely sure who those eyes belonged to specifically, but he had ideas. Most of the ideas involved people that opened doors to either of the Hong’s bad side. They rarely had time to enjoy themselves, and when they did, it was only for a night, or the rare two nights, in a real bed. Seokmin wished one of those days were approaching soon. They had been travelling for far too long.

The thing that shocked Seokmin the most was not the way that Joshua was financially able to keep this all up, but the places that being financially stable could get you. Never mind the darkest corners of the smallest country, but the richest cities with the largest galas were incredible to Seokmin’s middle class eyes. The grandest ballrooms were things Seokmin only ever thought he would see in photos in magazines, but here they were, and for what reason, Seokmin didn’t know, he almost didn’t want to know.

Joshua had such an aura about him that mystified Seokmin. In private, Joshua was so willing to Seokmin that it was almost like their initial roles were reversed. Joshua, in the act of seducing Seokmin, gotten seduced himself. Seokmin was amazed. Seokmin was, dare he say, in love.

In public or around others, his ego grew to ten times his own height. He talked with such grand elegance and told stories of things that Seokmin thought only rich people would believe.

(“And just like that, my unwilling customer tripped on a wire and fell into my pool! And I laughed!” The crowd gathered had let out the fakest chuckled Seokmin’s ears had ever heard.

“What did you do?”

“Let the pool boy help, not me, of course!”)

No matter the flux of his attitude, he always looked at Seokmin with such flame and passion. It made his caramel eyes melt with the heat that was pouring out. It convinced Seokmin that Joshua Hong was serious about taking Seokmin wherever he went. It convinced him that Joshua had really strapped him down and never planned on letting go. The look in Joshua’s eyes when they meet across the tall entryway of the biggest hotel he had ever seen, and even though all that distance, Seokmin could still see how bad Joshua had been stuck in the life that is Seokmin, or even the other way around. It convinced him that Joshua would be with him for life. It convinced him that, though the pouring rain in a bumpy SUV ride, maybe this was the right choice.

Seokmin closed his eyes again and pressed his fingertips against the leather seats, feeling the vibration course throughout his hand and his head. His eyelids were heavy, and it took an effort to peel them open again. Joshua seemed to be out cold, his head was moving slightly whenever the car ran a bump, and he felt them both tilt when they took a turn. He did not know what their destination was, but he had a feeling it would be a few hours.

He arched his back to stretch it as best as he could, and he felt Joshua rouse. Seokmin lazily watched the top of his head as he moved ever so slightly, knowing what situation they were in as soon as he woke up. Joshua stilled again, but eventually started to slither his way up to make his face meet Seokmin’s.

Neither of them said anything, they both just stared with tired eyes, Joshua’s limbs felt heavy on Seokmin’s body but it was a nice weight, the kind that he would miss if Joshua got up.

Joshua closed his eyes again, and Seokmin waited, thinking he would open them again but he didn’t. Seokmin moved closer—as close as he could get in the space they had—and closed his eyes as well, not bothering to fight the urge to shut them any longer. Their foreheads were pressed together, arms splayed out across each other or underneath, the sound of the rain filling the gaps between them. Seokmin doesn’t remember how long they have been driving, nor does he know who is driving, but that doesn’t matter. As long as Joshua knows and is fine, then Seokmin is fine. Joshua always knows.

Joshua always held him close, and he has never been more thankful for that. It could be in metaphorical regards, or physically, at night, or at a crowded party, Seokmin has never felt more like he was loved. But that’s a tricky question to answer.

More than once, Seokmin always asks himself if he really was loved. Was he loved in the way that Joshua says he will always put him first, in the way that Joshua thinks of Seokmin before himself, or in the way that Joshua made sure that Seokmin was twice as safe as he was.

Maybe it wasn’t love. Because, after all, Joshua was a murderer. These are the facts that, no matter how hard Seokmin wants to deny it, can’t be ignored. Joshua should be in prison. But, if those facts are being thrown down on the table, then Seokmin should be in prison as well. It’s always been said to listen to your heart. Is that correct, even in this situation, when his heart is telling him to run further from the light into the darkness? Seokmin isn’t afraid of the dark. How could he be when Joshua Hong was the epitome of it?

Joshua was strange. Not strange in a way that he has a weird thing he collects, or he’s into something that only strange people would be into, but strange in a way that the way he moves and the way he talks is so captivating. Never in his whole life has Seokmin talked to someone so physically captivating. It could have been that element that led Seokmin to make the fatal mistake of not turning him in, because it was just so easy to be drawn to him. Maybe that’s why the whole crew stuck by him.

He still has the back and forth of whether or not hiding Joshua from the law was the right thing to do. Technically, no. Under any and every circumstance that has to do with the law, hiding Joshua from the public eye was the wrong thing to do. Morally, however, Seokmin still doesn’t have an answer. But sometimes, things need to be done even if they may be wrong. He hopes he will have an answer for that one soon.

It was dark by the time it felt like the car was starting to slow down. The rain hadn’t let up, but out of the window, Seokmin could see the yellow light of a fluorescent sign. Seokmin made no move to get up until the car stopped.

“Wait here.” The voice sounded from the front seat, and Seokmin was sure he had heard it before, but he was far too out of it to try and remember where. He stared up at the ceiling of the car, taking in the sound of the rain and Joshua’s breathing on his neck. His hand snaked up to comb his fingers through Joshua’s hair, new and redone, soft, and smelled good just like Seokmin always remembered, even though he doesn’t know when he showered last.

The warmth they were creating gave Seokmin the illusion that they didn’t need to get up, and they could stay there all night. Getting up and getting out would be hell, but settling in later would be like laying on a cloud in heaven. If either of them ever get to heaven, of course.

The car door flung open suddenly and scared them both. Seokmin tried to sit up but Joshua beat him to it, and Seokmin just laid back down, watching Joshua from his head on the seat.

“The room is on the second floor, go through this door, take a left, up the stairs, then right. 253.” The driver tossed something back to Joshua, and said man stretched to sit up. Seokmin could see pain and distress written all over his face.

“Thanks, Wonwoo. We’ll be out in a moment, we’ll be quick.” Joshua’s voice sounded so foreign to his ears, so tired and rough, worn, like it hasn’t been used in days. Seokmin feels like he hasn’t genuinely heard Joshua speak in days. Seokmin’s heart lurches at that thought, and Seokmin suddenly wants Joshua’s attention to be on him. Seokmin wants to hear Joshua’s voice directed at him. His grip unconsciously tightened on Joshua’s jacket, and he looked down.

“We have a room for a while. Let’s go quick.”

Seokmin was lightheaded when he sat up. He grabbed onto Joshua’s shoulder to steady himself, and the other boy only stayed in place to make sure Seokmin would get up fine. Seokmin just sat for a moment, and once Joshua was sure he wouldn’t topple like a toddler, he started reaching though the back to grab bags and bags of clothes and other necessities Seokmin vaguely remembers packing at one point or another. Seokmin watched him work, he threw a bag onto Seokmin’s lap and three into the front seat, and two under his own arms. Joshua moved his head in a way that signaled Seokmin to open his own door and climb out, which he managed to do while staying on both feet.

Joshua handed him the two bags he had under his own arms gently, taking extra care to make sure Seokmin was firmly holding onto him. Joshua looked around a few times before ducking into the front seat. While Joshua was checking everything over, Seokmin really took a look at where they were.

He couldn’t see much because of the rain (which he wasn’t moving to get cover from, for some reason), but he could tell it was a desolate area. The place they pulled up to looked a little worn down, like it had been there for a few decades and used thoroughly. He could see a colorful sign across the street, but the image was blurred due to the rainfall, but other than that, the street was dark and barren. The smell of dust and wet woods hung in the air, though he saw no trees.

“Seokmin!” He turned his head to see Joshua twenty feet away, under the awning. “What are you doing? Are you crazy?! Come on!” Seokmin could see him yell for him through his soaked bangs, and only now realized that his dress shirt and pants were decently soaked through. He saw his own breath come out in white puffs, a stark contrast to the emptiness around him. He said nothing, and only ran for cover.

It wasn’t a cold rain, but Seokmin felt cold only as he was walking inside the building. He followed Joshua who seemed to know exactly where he was going. Either this was due to being here before of Wonwoo giving them both instructions literally five minutes ago.

The place wasn’t a five-star hotel by any means. The red patterned carpet had been worn down to a musty burgundy and the white walls looked only a crème under the yellow lights as Joshua led them to the left, up the stairs, then to the right. 253.

Joshua unlocked it and let Seokmin in first, shutting the door tight behind them and shutting the bolt lock just to be safe. Seokmin watched Joshua as he triple-checked the locks on the doors, then as he turned around and flicked a light on. The place didn’t look five-stars, but it was more than a cheap corner motel. The wall that touched the headboards of the beds was burgundy, and like most hotels, the only light source was a lamp on either side of the two beds and a dresser with a small TV sat on top across from the beds. Joshua threw down his bags and Seokmin followed, putting the other three on the other bed.

“No, put those here. We’re just going to keep all our clothes in the bags, we’ll be out of here in a few days.” Seokmin only did as Joshua told him too, feeling to physically and mentally weak to do much but ask why. “It’s easier than taking everything out and putting it back in when we are done. We’re only staying for like two days anyway. We can sleep together.”

It was then when Seokmin realized that Joshua was not acting like himself. He was very frantic and making sure that everything was perfect, and making sure to tell Seokmin if he had so much as a toe out of line. Seokmin stood there, in his wet clothes that were itching his skin, watching Joshua go through the bags to see what’s inside, moving things to different bags if they didn’t fit with whatever bag it was initially in. Yes, there was always a certain quality about Joshua that made him naturally have the lead in whatever it was he was doing, but now it was like he was taking extra care to do so.

“What are you doing? You look weird just standing there.” Joshua spoke to him, not unkindly, and made his way over to him. Joshua combed his fingers through Seokmin’s wet hair and pulled it off his forehead, wiping away any extra moisture with his hand. He dropped both hands and made quick work of unbuttoning Seokmin’s wet shirt. “Get these clothes off, you’ll get sick.” Joshua whispered, and Seokmin could only stare at the other man in amazement. Amazement of what, he wasn’t sure. He just knew he was amazed.

“Go shower. Get this rain water out of your hair.” Joshua pulled the shoulders off of Seokmin’s shirt and let his stand there bare chested while Joshua fished for some dry clothes.

“You, too.”

“I didn’t get as wet as you.” Joshua only turned when he had dry items for Seokmin.

“Yeah but…” Seokmin was so mentally out of it. He was almost physically struggling to form sentences. “You should get clean, too.” Joshua just started at him and cocked his head. A small grin grew on his face, and Joshua looked fond. So fucking fond.

“Together?” Joshua asked as he turned around again to fetch a second pair of dry clothes. Seokmin tugged the hem of his shirt. Joshua only laughed as Seokmin pulled him towards the bathroom and shut the door after him. In the bathroom, they only stood close, their noses touching and foreheads pressed together, their hands barely contacting the other person’s skin.

“Where are we going?” Seokmin mumbled.

“A safe place.” Joshua returned.

They made eye contact, and Seokmin was driven only by the way his body moved, as if his mind were turned off. His hand gripped Joshua’s waist and he pulled himself closer, and he felt Joshua bring his hand up to the side of his jawline and pull his face in.

Seokmin had only kissed Joshua a few times before. The first time was in the mansion, when Joshua was looking sinful in the red mesh robe and garters. A piece of Seokmin wishes that Joshua would come back, but he only exists in his memories. The second time was when Joshua came back to Seokmin’s house, and he kissed him hard even though Joshua had been soaking wet. The third time was before they fled from the police, after Seokmin had abandoned his job. That was the last time he kissed Joshua, until now.

They didn’t have time to spend whatever remaining time they did have kissing. They were always running, always socializing, hiding. They looked at each other as if that could resemble the passion that a kiss does. That look was enough for them.

But now, Seokmin’s mind was so exhausted that he felt sparks coursing his body by the force of this kiss, the pressure of Joshua’s hand on his neck, travelling down to rest on his waist. Seokmin felt compelled by the way Joshua kissed him, it was so clear that Joshua knew what he was doing compared to Seokmin. He wasn’t complaining though, it was a rarity to kiss Joshua and every time he did, he felt like he was floating, no matter how heavy his limbs were, especially right now.

Joshua pulled away and they both pressed their foreheads together again. Joshua laughed at Seokmin’s dazed state, and Seokmin could swear he saw stars.

“Let’s go. It’s late.” Joshua kissed his forehead and turned on the shower.

Yes, it wasn’t the five-star hotel that Seokmin hoped for, but at the end of the day, the somewhat warm shower was enough to loosen his muscles, and the bed wasn’t like laying on clouds, but it was much better at putting him to sleep than the bumpy car ride.

Seokmin woke up the most comfortable he thinks he has ever been in the past few months. He recognized the warm sheets around his body and the body of his lover under his arm, who was tucked right underneath his chin. He heard Joshua’s breaths, soft and warm, and figured that if Joshua was in no rush to get up and get out, then he shouldn’t be either. He closed his eyes and snuggled deeper into the blankets.

By the second time Seokmin woke up, the room was still dark, but his bed was empty. There was no noise anywhere throughout the small room, so for a second, he was worried that Joshua had picked up everything and left him, despite him having woken up alone on multiple circumstances Joshua was always there, but his suspicions were proven false when he saw their six bags still sitting on the opposite bed, His muscles were so stiff, when he tried to sit up, his upper arms betrayed him, and wobbled under the weight of his upper body, and he ultimately collapsed back onto the pillow.

His second concern arose a few minutes later when he wasn’t sure if there was an early morning event he was supposed to attend. Through much deep thought, he concluded that there were no events, and if so, Joshua would have warned him last night. Joshua should have woken him up this morning, but he figures if Joshua were in such a rush to leave that waking him up would only be important once he comes back. He really has no idea where Joshua could have gone, Seokmin kind of wants to check his phone to see if there were any messages, but it was too far away from him and the warmth was enticing.

At the end of the day, Joshua’s whereabouts were Seokmin’s whereabouts, and he had to know in order to be safe overall.

Seokmin hoisted himself up again on his arms, but they once again failed him, so he resorted to rolling over on his back and sitting upright. He stretched his arms far out in front of him to loosen the muscles, then he sat still, as if he were going to stay like that until Joshua’s arrival. His head throbbed and he crushed his temples with the heels of his palms desperately to calm the ache. Seokmin was so temped to lie back down, but with no information on where Joshua was or how long he had been gone, the fear of being alone or getting caught (alone) was enough to drive him up and turn the lights on.

At first glance, nothing was off, but he noticed a white sheet with black ink scribbled on it lying on his pillow, and he made his way over. Seokmin thought he should get some natural light in, but seeing what Joshua wrote first was more important than sunlight.

The hotel provided note pad with the bad quality pen read: Meeting w/ some of the team to discuss important matters for our safety. Will return at 9:30.

It was currently 9:15. Seokmin breathed a sigh of relief and his legs gave out, the bed catching his fall. He sat there, staring at nothing, just glad that Joshua hadn’t abandoned him. That was a scenario he hadn’t really thought about, he didn’t know what he would do if Joshua abandoned him. He had no contact with the outside world, which was probably unhealthy, but he knows he is doing it for his own safety. He didn’t consider Joshua the type of person to easily abandon him. Just that little reassurance, though, was enough tell Seokmin that Joshua wasn’t going to leave, and after all, maybe Joshua did want to stick around. Maybe he figured they were just better together.

It was, however, very lonely without Joshua. Seokmin had faced multiple occasions where Joshua was not around, but he had never been left in a hotel room completely alone. Whenever he was alone, it was either with another team member, or he was standing by himself in a room of people. So really, alone to Seokmin means without Joshua. But right now, he was truly alone.

He doesn’t know if he could continue to live like this after Joshua introduced him to a new corner of the world. Seokmin has grown so used to Joshua’s presence, he doesn’t think he would be able to physically live without him. The way that Joshua provided for him, he can’t believe he ever lived in a life where he had to provide for himself.

Joshua chose this moment to walk in the door, Seokmin’s head shot up and watched him walk in. He realized how truly fucked he was when he felt the huge wave of relief and pleasure wash over him at the mere sight of Joshua.

“You’re up.” Joshua sounded like he had been awake for hours, and was surprised that Seokmin managed to drag his body up.

“You’re back.” Seokmin’s voice, unlike Joshua’s, was rough, and clearly hadn’t been used in a while.

“Yeah, I really needed to talk about some stuff, I didn’t want to wake you, and for the sake of your own safety, I couldn’t bring you. I wanted to, but, I couldn’t.”

Seokmin shook his head. “It’s fine. I know you have secret stuff to do.” Joshua visibly relaxed, and he walked over to the bed and sat next to Seokmin. He placed a hand on Seokmin’s thigh.

“It was about where we are going next. You know, we don’t just go to random places, we think about it and get in touch with those we know. This next place, the owner says it’s very secure and safe, I’ve been there once or twice and I would say it is secure based on the… large scale.”

“Where is it?” Seokmin looked at Joshua’s profile as he was looking down. He had recently shaved his undercut and his hair was black, a ruffled mess on his head but Seokmin found no imperfection.

“I can’t say, but you will find out soon. It will be good for the both of us. I promise.” Joshua looked at Seokmin, and maybe it was because this was the first proper sleep he had had in days, but he thinks that he could see nothing but sincerity on Joshua’s gaze.

“I trust you.” Seokmin whispered. Joshua smiled. Seokmin felt his hand squeeze on his thigh.

“Good.” Joshua bit his lip and looked away. He lightly patted Seokmin’s thigh once before standing up. “We have somewhere to go today, Seokmin. Have to prepare to leave.”

Seokmin watched as Joshua took off his black jacket and threw it on the bed, searching through one of the bags before pulling out a neatly folded white button down. Instead of him putting it on, like he had expected, Joshua beckoned Seokmin over.

“Come, put this on.” Seokmin didn’t ask questions until he had followed Joshua’s order and taken his shirt off. Joshua then slid the white shirt onto his shoulders, and started buttoning from the bottom up.

“What’s this for?” Seokmin watched as Joshua made quick work of his fingers and slipped the buttons into the slits, one by one. He figured this was one of Joshua’s shirts instead of his own due to the fit being snug, but it wasn’t snug enough to bother him.

“It has to do with where we are off to next. It’s pretty crucial that you fit in.” Joshua fixed the collar before telling Seokmin to drop his pants and to slip on a black pair that mirrored Joshua’s.

Seokmin did as he was told. “Don’t you need to fit in, too?”

“I have what’s necessary but I don’t think you do. Don’t worry. You’re only being fit for clothes.” That seemed to ease Seokmin’s anxiety a bit, but he could never be too sure about the situation. Joshua Hong as always been a sneaky man.

Joshua ran his fingers through Seokmin’s hair to fix it up slightly and all he had to do to get ready was put on a different color jacket. Joshua handed a blazer to Seokmin and looked him up and down one more time. Seokmin felt empowered by the look he received, like Joshua was proud of his creation, and Seokmin was proud to be his creation.

Joshua had instructed Seokmin to walk fast but to look inconspicuous while doing so as he led them out to the car, Joshua slid in the back first, and Seokmin followed. Seokmin realized that the driver was none other than the driver who brought them there the previous night. Seokmin was far too out of it then to piece together that it was Wonwoo, and that’s why he seemed so familiar, but it made sense now. He wonders where Wonwoo stayed for the night.

Seokmin looked over at Joshua, and he looked tired. His head was leaning on the headrest and his eyes were closed, he was barely moving. Seokmin was worried that he wasn’t breathing, but he sniffled every now and then, so Seokmin could push his nerves down for a few more minutes.

Joshua’s words were circling his head. Fitting for clothes, it was impossible to know what he meant for that. He couldn’t say Joshua was wrong when he said he wasn’t sure if Seokmin had the right clothes necessary for where they were headed; he didn’t have much to begin with. But Joshua said he himself was ready, and that could mean anything. Whether it meant that Joshua was ready in the sense that he looked like he always had a minimum of 500 grand in his pocket at all times or if he was ready in the sense that he wore floral perfumes and revealing clothing with nothing underneath. Seokmin just couldn’t read Joshua as well as he wished he could.

The area they were in wasn’t crowded like a city, but rather lived in, and occupied like an urban town. The hotel had a good number of cars in the parking lot, but not too many to become an issue for their safety. Seokmin doesn’t even know what part of the country they are in at this point. Honestly, he doesn’t care.

Something about the scenery felt so home about it, maybe it was because the area was just strictly residential, with a few main streets and an odd-one-out hotel, but it was a kind of home that Seokmin had never experienced it, even if his birth house was in an area almost similar. It was a little unsettling, but he couldn’t piece together where they were. Street signs and store names all made no sense in his head, and the words he was trying to piece together fell apart easily.

He dozed off for the rest of the car ride, he couldn’t tell if it was the ever-boring atmosphere or the fact that he didn’t get enough sleep, but they arrived eventually, and it was not the place he had expected to see.

A Men’s Warehouse, perhaps, maybe even something a step down, or, knowing Joshua, a step up. Not this, though. It was a fair-sized house, two stories, a vast front yard and back, but it held one detail that Seokmin could not look around. They were in the middle of nowhere.

Seokmin doesn’t know how badly he zoned out, but he was pretty sure that he would notice them traveling through woods to get to this house. He was supposed to get fitted for clothes here? Was the place they were running off to similar to this? Seokmin liked all the moving around and interacting with people even though he needed to stay very inconspicuous, he doesn’t know if he could deal with living somewhere in the middle of a forest.

He can’t say for sure, though, and he knew that if he asked Joshua again, he wouldn’t give him an answer.

Joshua seemed to be conscious for the whole thing, despite having his eyes closed and head back, because he knew exactly where they were. Of course he did, he was bringing Seokmin there in the first place.

Joshua hopped right out of the car with all the energy in the world, and Seokmin unsteadily followed after him. The crunching of the gravel was the only thing Seokmin heard as they walked up to the front door, Wonwoo following closely behind him. Joshua walked up with such grace, and the three of them ascended the small set of stairs, and like they were being expected, the door swung open right in time for them.

The sight was… unexpected, but not as crazy as he had been expecting.

It was one of Joshua’s team members. Seokmin couldn’t remember his name for the life of him, but he definitely looked familiar. His black hair was slightly ruffled and he only stepped aside to let them in, no greeting came from him. Joshua stood in the foyer and Seokmin did the same, probably waiting for something—or someone. The entryway had a lot of height, looking up to the second floor where there was a railing encasing the second-floor landing, and stairs to the left. There was a door on the ground level that led into the room on their left. The glass paneled door revealed mirrors and white curtains hanging all around the room, hangars of suits displayed on rods hanging from the ceiling and Seokmin thinks he even saw a dress. To his right was what looked like a dining room without the table, and more glass doors, double this time, with more white cloth and mirrors. There was a stand in the middle of the floor.

Right in front of them was a hallway that looked like it led to a kitchen, and their heads turned in that direction when they heard a voice.

“Joshua?”

Their heads turned, and the unmistakable Mingyu came from around the corner, dark jeans and a white shirt was all he wore. He slowed down when he took a good look at the small group.

“Wonwoo,” He acknowledged, shyly. Wonwoo said nothing, but Seokmin heard him take a few steps.

“Where’s Junhui? Upstairs?” Wonwoo only looked up the staircase, expecting Junhui to come down at the sound of his voice.

“Um, yeah. He is.” For someone as big as Mingyu, Seokmin never thought he would see him get small under the presence of someone. Wonwoo once again said nothing else before he trotted up the stairs and out of sight.

“Seokmin!” Mingyu regained his composure eerily quick. “It’s been a while. We missed you.”

“Yeah, it has. Been doing important things, though.” Mingyu listened to him speak as he led them through the empty dining room and through the double doors. This was indeed a tailor.

“Of course, it’s only vital.” Mingyu stopped in front of him. “He’ll be down in a minute, Joshua.” Joshua nodded. Mingyu went to walk away but Joshua was quick in his steps, he grabbed Mingyu gently by the elbow and stopped him, whispering to him. Seokmin watched the exchange. Mingyu repeatedly shook his head and mumbled something back, then spoke normally: “I’m fine, Joshua.” He made quick eye contact with Seokmin, then nodded a goodbye to Joshua and walked out of the room. Joshua didn’t mention it when he came back over.

“So, this is where the team has been staying. Not Wonwoo, obviously, it’s too far away for him to go late last night and come back early in the morning but… everyone else is here.”

“All of them?”

“Yes. All of them.” Joshua tilted his head. “Minus Seungcheol.”

“Seungcheol.” Seokmin honestly forgot about Seungcheol. The last thing he remembers about him was that he had gotten arrested on the scene of the house, and he hadn’t heard anything about him since. He doesn’t even know if he has a permanent sentence or if he is out, or where he is. Joshua hasn’t said anything. “Where is Seungcheol?”

Joshua took a deep breath in, looking at Seokmin’s face, but not in his eyes. “Seungcheol… he is-”

They were cut off by the doors opening, and an unforgettable face flitted in. His hair was getting longer, and while it was still a bright blonde color, the roots were starting to peek through. The ends of his hair fit right between his eyebrows and lashes, and he walked like he had a purpose. He nodded to Seokmin.

“Jeonghan.” Seokmin greeted back. Jeonghan placed a hand on Seokmin’s back and led him over to the center of the room, where he stood in front of the mirror. Joshua’s shirt wrapped around his body looked a bit odd, like it was clear it was not made for Seokmin, as his build was larger than Joshua’s (only if even by a little, and his pants were a bit too large, like they belonged to nobody in the room. He needed a haircut soon.

“I need you to undress.” Seokmin just stared at Jeonghan. The other man shrugged. “I need to take proper measurements.”

Seokmin sighed. Joshua wasn’t even paying attention anymore, he was looking at the types of fabric that were hanging on large spools on the wall. Seokmin wonders how he didn’t notice those. “How far?”

“To your underwear. Or Joshua’s underwear. I know you’ve been wearing his clothes. It’s not hard to tell.” Jeonghan seemed to be acting like he had the very first time Seokmin had met him: witty and cunning. Severely less so, however, now that the two had become well acquainted. Nothing seemed to be off, which was odd, because one of the last times he saw Jeonghan, he was the total opposite. In the middle of a breakdown about the loss of Seungcheol. Not… physical loss, but rather, temporary loss. Seokmin wants to know where Seungcheol is. He figured now, however, is the wrong time to ask.

“Do you know what you’re doing?” Seokmin asked, despite following his request and unbuttoning his shirt.

“Did you forget what I did back at the house? Has it been that long?” Jeonghan stood straight with his arms folded over his chest. He had a small smile playing at the corner of his mouth, and his attitude made Seokmin almost want to smile, too.

“You went to college for psychology, though.” Jeonghan’s posture loosened up. His eyes grew softer, but only slightly.

“You remember that? Did I even tell you?”

Seokmin shrugged. “Yeah, I remember. It’s hard to forget that when you just exerted sarcasm and tried to deliberately get into my mind?” Jeonghan looked guilty. “And I can’t remember who told me. Probably something mentioned on the side. Not like I can do much with that information anyway.”

“Well yes, I went to school for psychology. Not like I was going to make a career out of it.”

“Jeonghan grew up in a family of tailors and seamstresses, and took the skill on from there. He’s quite wonderful, I trust him in fitting me.” Seokmin turned to Joshua, who was sitting on a cushion against the back wall.

“How can you be so sure?” Seokmin joked, and luckily it elicited a laugh from Jeonghan.

“He made all my robes.” Maybe it wasn’t intended to, but Joshua’s comment shut Seokmin up. The sight of Joshua in the robes was something that would be permanently ingrained in his mind. If Jeonghan did truly make those robes for Joshua, then he must have blessed hands. Seokmin’s sudden quietness made Jeonghan snicker again.

“Pants. Come on, we don’t have all day.” Seokmin sighed and stepped out of his pants, and while he would be self-conscious in this situation, he doesn’t quite care as the focus was only his measurements.

Jeonghan instructed Seokmin to lift his arms to he could take his tape measure and wrap it around his chest, then again on his torso.

“What have you got for fabric, anything new?” Joshua asked from the cushion. Seokmin made eye contact with him in the mirror. He suddenly felt very exposed.

“You know, the same old stuff. What kind of couture do they have down there? I’ve got polyester-”

“Ew.”

“Expected.” Jeonghan mumbled. “Tweed.”

“Over my dead body.”

“Understandable.” Jeonghan moved to measure his thighs. “I don’t know. Cotton, linen, velvet, corduroy.”

Joshua sighed and stood up. He stood right behind Seokmin, looking at his figure in the mirror. Seokmin didn’t meet his eyes, but rather lowered his arm and let Jeonghan write things down.

“Give me a few pairs of black pants in cotton only, one gray. I want two blazers in the same material and give me a black velvet blazer and a deep red one.”

“Good choice, Joshua. Anything else?”

“Any patters?”

“The same as always. I’m assuming you want pinstripe?”

Joshua squinted his eyes to think. “No. Give me one Prince of Wales, too, Jeonghan. The one that looks like yours.”

“Of course.” Jeonghan stood again after writing everything down and let Seokmin know he could put his clothes back on. Joshua initiated conversation when he had just buttoned his pants.

“Mingyu is quite the character.” Joshua was standing by the fabrics again, rolling one out so Jeonghan could cut the appropriate lengths.

“Honestly, it’s worse by the day. He’s not trying to hide it earlier.” Seokmin watched them both work in the mirror as he was buttoning his shirt. “Keep your boy away from here, or so help me. He doesn’t know what to do with himself when he comes around.”

“He should just tell him. He’s got nothing to lose.”

“He’s got everything to lose Josh. Did you forget about Jun?”

Joshua sighed. “Wonwoo really won’t budge?” Jeonghan shrugged.

“Is something going on with them? Mingyu was weird when we walked in.” Seokmin asked once he stepped down off the platform and walked over to the two.

“Mingyu isn’t subtle at all. That’s the problem.” Seokmin looked between the two, trying to read between the lines like he had undergone months of training to do, and yet he just couldn’t figure it out. Joshua simply raised one eyebrow at Seokmin as Jeonghan kept cutting yards of fabric. Seokmin sighed.

“Who else is here right now?” Seokmin questioned.

“Um, I know Jun and Mingyu are. I think Minghao is here. Not quite sure who else. You can go check.” Jeonghan nodded his head towards the door, and Joshua gave him a look. A sudden feeling washed over him, and he realized that he was not welcome in the conversation Joshua and Jeonghan were about to have. Seokmin looked at them both one last time before he left out of the doors, wandering throughout the house again.

It was very bare, no décor or signs that this house was very lived in, but then again, it was so lived in. His footsteps clacked on the wooden floors as we wandered aimlessly through the foyer into the kitchen, which was on the left, and a family room on the right. No one was in either of them. He thought about going upstairs, but was afraid to trespass, not knowing if it were bedrooms or what not. He stood still in the entryway, listening for any signs of life, and he heard noise coming from below him, but he wasn’t sure how to get to the basement.

He wondered what Joshua and Jeonghan must be talking about that required Seokmin to leave the room. Was it about their future placement? Now he was really wondering where they were going if Seokmin’s wardrobe needed to consist of fancy suits, and it needed to be crucial that they fit. He felt a little alienated. Seokmin was involved in this. He should know where they were off to next, right?

He took a deep breath in and looked around for a set of stairs leading down. He found nothing out in the open, but there was a door on the same wall of the entryway. The floors and walls must have been incredibly soundproof, because as soon as he opened the door, the noise increased considerably. He descended the stairs slowly, walls on both of his sides until he reached the bottom. To his left and to his right were wider spaces than the five feet of space left in front of him, and he turned right. His stomach dropped when he realized it was only so loud because malicious words were being thrown back and forth, and it sunk hard when he came face to face with one of the team members on top of another one, and not for any friendly reason.

“Seokmin!” That one shout from one of the chubby cheeked boys stopped everything. Everyone turned to look at him, some looked surprised, some looked thankful, some looked guilty. Seokmin stepped forward and he realized that it was Wonwoo who was aggressively brawling with the poor victim: Mingyu.

“What’s going on here?” Seokmin’s police instincts took over as he grabbed Wonwoo’s shoulders and forced him off of Mingyu, and did the same to Mingyu, but less harshly. He had blood running from his nose and a deep split on his lip, dripping onto his white shirt. No one said anything.

“Someone better talk.” He looked at Wonwoo, blood standing his fist, who was draining adrenaline quickly, and when Seokmin took one step closer to him, he took a step back.

“Anyone?” Seokmin could feel his own anger rise, and luckily then, someone spoke.

“I don’t know what happened, Wonwoo just started hitting Mingyu.” It was Hansol—unforgettable—who spoke and gave his that information. Wonwoo didn’t meet Seokmin’s eyes.

“Any reason?” Seokmin spoke to everyone, but still staring hard at Wonwoo.

“I only said something about how he’s always with Jun and he jumped on me.” Mingyu mumbled.

“Yeah, because you need to mind your fucking business!” Wonwoo advanced on Mingyu again but Seokmin put a hand on his chest and pushed him back hard. He stumbled backwards but stayed on his feet.

“Watch it, kid. I still have authority over you, you know.” Seokmin spit at Wonwoo.

“Really? Because I’ve been taking your ass everywhere, and what, you can’t go back to your station. You’re as good as dead over there.” Seokmin gained on Wonwoo.

“You’re not any better. I can handle this with you or get Joshua involved.”

“Yeah? What can he do? We don’t live in the house anymore. He can’t tell me shit when I’ve been his fucking chauffeur for the last two weeks. What can he do?” Wonwoo yelled.

“What can he do?” Seokmin repeated. “You want to know? Whether you like it or not, you all still follow Joshua’s footsteps, he’s keeping you here, he’s hiding you. What he can do it let you go. Let you fend for your fucking self. Mind you they know what your goddamn face looks like, if they hear from anywhere that you’ve been spotted and they grab you, you’re done for. You wouldn’t be able to do shit for yourself if it weren’t for Joshua. He can throw you away fast. And it won’t take a lot of convincing on my part to make it happen.” Seokmin growled at him, and Wonwoo didn’t back down, but he had nothing left to say.

Seokmin backed up and directed his gaze at Junhui. “And you? Anything to add?”

Jun crossed his arms and made eye contact with Seokmin for a split second before looking down. He only shook his head.

Seokmin grabbed Mingyu’s elbow and instructed him to go upstairs. “You.” He aimed at Wonwoo. “Let’s go.”

Seokmin went up the stairs, Mingyu in front and making sure that Wonwoo stayed behind him. Seokmin grabbed Wonwoo’s arm once he was up and told him to stay put as he grabbed some napkins to stop the bleeding on Mingyu’s face. “Joshua!”

He was getting Mingyu’s blood all over his hands but no part of him minded. He told Mingyu to tilt his head back and apply pressure and he stepped back when he heard the door open.

“What’s going on?” Joshua’s voice fluttered in, followed by Jeonghan. “What is this?” He looked at Mingyu with bloody tissues on his face. His eyes then darted to Wonwoo, and they trailed down to his fist which was quickly bruising and covered in Mingyu’s dried blood. “What did you do?” Joshua’s manner suddenly grew dark, and Seokmin could tell Wonwoo was afraid.

“I-I…”

“Huh?” Joshua stood face to face with Wonwoo. “What did I tell you?” He menacingly growled at him. Wonwoo gulped.

“I hit Mingyu.” Wonwoo didn’t break eye contact with Joshua, but he looked so small in that moment.

“Why?”

“Because he made a comment about me and Jun.”

“And you had to hit him?” Joshua barked. “What did he say?”

Wonwoo took an unsteady breath in. “Seungkwan said that something happened to Hansol in the kitchen and I said that I didn’t know that and then Mingyu said that I would know if I weren’t spending so much time with Jun.”

“So your only reasonable response to that was to hit him? What were you thinking? Maybe you are spending too much time with Jun.”

“I’m not! I don’t know where he was getting this information from!”

“Should I make it so you can never see him again?” Even with Joshua’s skinny build and not-so-intimidating height, he managed to have such an aura that one would be crazy to dispute with. It’s almost as if shapeshifting was real, and Joshua’s specialty was going from dainty housewife to Lucifer himself. And no one questioned it. That was just Joshua.

Wonwoo said nothing, like expected, and Joshua backed away slowly. “Go get Jun. Don’t come back up.”

Joshua turned away before he could see Wonwoo go back down towards the stairs, and if Wonwoo’s looks could kill, Joshua would be, not dead, but slowly dying, probably.

Joshua walked over to Mingyu, who had his head on Jeonghan’s shoulder with the latter rubbing his back, and if Seokmin looked closely, he could see Mingyu’s shoulders shake. He heard a sniffle once in a while, and he didn’t comment on it. Joshua stood behind Mingyu and put a hand on his shoulder, pulling him up to look at Joshua. Joshua took a clean tissue from the counter and wiped the blood from his face, his other hand was on the back of Mingyu’s neck. Seokmin looked away, but he heard a hiss and a whisper of ‘It’s okay’, and after that, another hushed ‘Don’t cry’.

The basement door then opened and closed, and Joshua’s attention was now on Junhui. He didn’t look as angry at him, but Seokmin knew that Joshua had a few things to say to him. Joshua backed away from Mingyu and gained on Junhui, pulling him over into the entryway so his words couldn’t be heard by ears unmeant for the conversation.

Seokmin decided to be useful and he made his way over to Mingyu, who didn’t seem to mind that he was taking over for Joshua. As Seokmin was carefully tending to Mingyu’s wounds, he heard Joshua whisper harshly every now and then, but it was too quick to make out what word he could have been saying.

Seokmin had blood on his fingertips by the time Joshua was done with Junhui, and Junhui took Mingyu upstairs gently by the hand, and only the three of them were left again. Joshua sighed and turned to Jeonghan.

“Try to get the clothes to me as soon as possible.” He turned to the basement door, taking a few steps towards it. “I’ll be relocating in a day or two.”

“Wait!” Jeonghan made Joshua turn around. “Let’s go get food. I have important things to tell you.”

“How important? Important enough that you didn’t tell me earlier?”

“Well…” Jeonghan hesitated. “I think Seokmin should hear this, too.” They both stared at Jeonghan, waiting for some kind of clue about what this has to do with. Joshua remained blank faced but Seokmin’s heart was racing. This could mean anything. This could have to do with their safety, their future location. It could have anything to do with anything and Seokmin was so unsure about what to expect.

Jeonghan inhaled deeply. “It’s about Seungcheol.”

Joshua stared at him, almost like he didn’t hear what he said. But then he moved, he faced the basement door fully. “Get in the car. I’ll be there in a minute.”

Joshua only did come out to the car with Wonwoo in front of him, who sat in the driver’s seat, and Joshua sat up front in the passenger’s seat instead of the back. He must have told Wonwoo where to go prior to getting in the car, as he drove off without Joshua having to say anything to him.

The ride was silent, and Seokmin had a million things running through his mind, so all he could really do at this point was put his head back and close his eyes. Minutes later, the car stopped, and Seokmin had trouble picking his head off of the headrest and getting out of the car.

The diner they pulled up to had a very obvious theme: 70s. The front of it was very metallic with bursts of red, and he could already see the checkerboard flooring in there. He didn’t want to go in, he had no appetite but he figured that the information needed to come out one way or another, and Seokmin could not wait another minute.

Wonwoo stayed in the car, and Seokmin guessed Joshua had instructed him to, since he didn’t say anything about it. Serves him right, Seokmin felt glad that when Wonwoo hadn’t listened to Seokmin trying to put him in his place, Joshua rightfully did so.

They sat down, and no one said anything until a waitress came over and asked for drinks, and Jeonghan only opened his mouth once she was out of earshot. Seokmin nervously adjusted himself in the red leather booth seat.

Jeonghan bit his lip and exhaled slowly. “Seungcheol…” The atmosphere was tense. “Is okay.”

“He’s okay?” Joshua leaned forward. Seokmin was just as nervous as he was, but he was too tense to ask any questions. He let Joshua do the talking.

“Yes. He’s fine. I know where he is.”

“Where is he? I want to see him.” Joshua was very eager at this, and it made Seokmin a bit confused.

“No, you can’t see him yet. He… is not very far from where you guys are staying.”

“Well… how come we-”

“Wait.” Seokmin cut Joshua off. Something was very strange about this situation, and it wasn’t sitting right with Seokmin. “You don’t know where Seungcheol is? Weren’t you the one who said you were going to get him out?”

“Well… yes, but, Jeonghan took the initiative from me. He wanted him out faster than I could do anything about it so, he took it right from my hands. I told him he would be responsible for Seungcheol.” Joshua sighed. “Damnit, I should have known something was up when you were in a good mood.”

Jeonghan cracked a smile. “He is fine. I worked through some of Yejun’s connections. Crazy how many frauds are out there.” Jeonghan fiddled with his thumbs. “After they got him out, he stayed underground for a while. Worked alongside way more pimps than I think I’ve ever seen in my life. There… it was a bit tricky to get him out for real.”

“He was stuck inside a dungeon? Jeonghan… Even I have never been in one.”

Jeonghan shook his head, as if he were trying to rid the thoughts as they were spilling out on his tongue. “I don’t know, just, the people I got in contact with said they could bring him somewhere where he wouldn’t be found and yes, I guess that place was a good spot but, damn, it was hard to convince the guy in charge to give him up. As if Seungcheol worked there.” Jeonghan’s composure fell, and he furrowed his eyebrows. “I don’t… want to remember what I had to do to get him out. But I did it. And maybe I’ll hate myself in a few years when I do remember but, I’ll never regret it if it got Seungcheol out.”

Joshua reached his hands forward and wrapped them around Jeonghan’s. Seokmin realized the blonde man’s hands were shaking ever so slightly. “What did he ask of you?” Joshua whispered. Seokmin thought this was crazy, asking Jeonghan what he had to do when he just said he did not want to remember. Joshua knew more than Seokmin did, though. Maybe this is what he did to rise to power amongst the twelve. Probably Seokmin, too.

Jeonghan laughed, but there was no humor. “Sex. What else?” He shook his head, starting to look frantic. “Not money. They get enough. Not my belongings, just my body was enough.” Jeonghan whispered, each syllable coming out in pure distaste.

“You don’t have to talk about it anymore.” Joshua assured. “I’m just glad that he got out before anything was uncovered about him.”

“Uncovered?” Seokmin finally spoke. “What do you mean?”

Neither Joshua nor Jeonghan spoke, but Seokmin said nothing, and simply waited for them to finish their silent game. Jeonghan gulped and Joshua straightened his posture.

“He doesn’t know?” Jeonghan mumbled with a hint of a grin. “He’s been with you for months, Josh.”

“Seungcheol…” Joshua started. “Is not my butler. Well, he is, but, his job title isn’t mainly butler.” Joshua leaned closer to Seokmin to make sure no one around him could hear, even though he was sure the only other people in here were the waitresses and the kitchen staff. “Seungcheol is a hitman.”

“What?!” Seokmin exclaimed, but Joshua was quick to pull his voice back down.

“Sh. Seungcheol is a hitman. Seungcheol is the only one out of the current staff who was here before anyone else. Before you ask why we would need one, Yejun wasn’t always loyal, and, sometimes people wanted revenge. Seungcheol is very talented, and not just in killing people but in staging it all. He can make a murder look like suicide. He can plant poisons and drugs into food and drink and make it go nearly undetected. You can’t find that shit in the academies, Seokmin. He was the real deal.” Joshua leaned away slowly. “I needed to make sure he stayed as inconspicuous as possible. If one piece of information got out about his secret job, it would be all over for him.”

“Hitman...” Seokmin whispered. They both nodded. “So that’s why you chose him to go into the house that day?” Seokmin directed at Jeonghan. He nodded.

“Because he’s stealthy as fuck. Not his fault though, the officers were deadly quiet.” Jeonghan took a deep breath in. “But it’s over. He’s fine now.” Joshua nodded.

The waitress chose this time to come over with their drinks of choice and asked for orders, but Jeonghan butt in and said that they wouldn’t be staying long. She seemed confused by this, but he tipped her greatly, greater than Seokmin has ever seen, and she was content and walked away.

Seokmin sighed. It was quiet in this diner save for the buzzing of old music coming from the ceilings and the chatter radiating out of the kitchen. Joshua seemed to have no more questions on his mind as his main worry of Seungcheol’s wellbeing was figured out, and he could rest well at night. At least, Seokmin could hop he will be resting well.

Seokmin bit his lip, a question budding on the tip of his tongue, and decided to speak his mind, because curiosity was going to kill him. “What’s going on with Mingyu and Wonwoo?”

Jeonghan laughed at this, and Joshua only grinned slightly.

“It’s a long story.” Jeonghan tried to get out of explaining it.

“I think we have got the time.” Seokmin egged on.

Jeonghan sighed. “Mingyu likes Wonwoo. Like, so grossly in love with him it’s almost laughable, but he’s so serious. He lights up like a puppy seeing his owner at the sight of him, and I kind of feel bad for the kid because, I don’t know if you could tell, but, Wonwoo does not like Mingyu. And I don’t mean like… Doesn’t return his feelings, but--and Mingyu doesn’t know this so do not repeat this to him--but, Wonwoo does not like Mingyu at all. He’s told me all of this before. He gets so angry whenever Mingyu speaks up, but, of course he couldn’t say anything in the situation we were living in before.” Jeonghan laughed softly. “It’s weird. Out of all people, Wonwoo is the last person you would think would hold that kind of dislike towards someone like Mingyu. Through that, and today's incidents Wonwoo has definitely given me reason to not particularly favor his company anymore”

He couldn’t really explain why, but Seokmin felt a rush of sadness. Sadness for Mingyu, particularly. He doesn’t exactly have experience with unrequited love, but the pain is understandable. Mingyu was innocent. Well, he can’t vouch for completely innocent, but Mingyu has been nothing but kind to Seokmin, despite meeting a small amount of times. Thinking back to today, his heart broke for Mingyu. To see the poor boy get beat on by the man he had such strong feelings for. It was truly sad. Seokmin was never someone who wished bad things upon people, but Wonwoo must have no heart. This was different.

“What did you say to Junhui earlier?” Jeonghan spoke up again, this time to Joshua.

Joshua kept his eyes on the table. “I told him that he needs to set Wonwoo straight. I said he needs to tell him that if he pulls another stunt like this, especially to Mingyu, he’s going to be on his own. That’s the threat that always gets them.” Joshua seemed almost happy that he had the power to make such a threat over them. “I said to tell Wonwoo that he needs to get his act together or it’s done for him, and maybe for Junhui, too.”

Seokmin stared at Joshua. “Threatening them both?”

“It works. I could never get rid of Junhui. If Jun thinks his life is on the line, he will have a much easier time getting the point across to Wonwoo.”

“And Wonwoo? Why is he with us still?” Seokmin mumbled, an unexplainable feeling of power over Wonwoo growing in his gut.

“I’m separating him from Jun. From Mingyu. I’m making Jun take care of Mingyu for the time being. Nurse him back to health while I can’t. Poor boy, I feel so bad for him.” Joshua played with the straw wrapper and kept his eyes on the table. Seokmin could tell how much Joshua cared for Mingyu, and he wondered how deep this care actually went. He had never seen Joshua take actual care for his staff outside of the house. Maybe Mingyu was his favorite.

“You threatened, fake threatened, Junhui of cutting him off, too?” Joshua nodded. “Do you… say that to everyone when they break some serious rules?”

“Yeah. I don’t mean it most of the time, and I think they know that, but they’re still scared of the possibility that I might cut them off.”

“Even the young ones?” Joshua didn’t answer right away. Jeonghan’s eyes were darting in between the two. “You even threaten the young ones like that?”

“Yeah.” Joshua whispered. “Sometimes, I have to do what I can to keep them in place. Unethical, sure, but simply saying words like that can prevent them from doing anything stupid.” Joshua wore his lip in between his teeth. “They are cut off from the rest of the world. No one besides us know where they are. All of them. You. Us.” He motioned to Jeonghan. “While I in no ways support what Wonwoo did I know that it can get stressful living with the same people, staying confined to the same areas, not talking to anyone else. Not having any sort of communication to anyone. They can’t live like this, I know, but because of the ransom note that I committed murder, they are all wanted. They need to stay in hiding. I tell them all the time.

“I think this move will be good for them. I think that, in the new place, they will have a lot more freedom. A lot more air to breathe. People to see. It will be good for them. Us.”

“Why can’t you tell me where we are going?” Seokmin directed to Joshua. Said man just shrugged.

“It’s not that I can’t. It’s just that I think it would be a good surprise.” He smiled, and for some reason, Seokmin immediately trusted him.

They ended up back at the hotel less than an hour later. Jeonghan said he needed to start working on Seokmin’s clothes with the deadline nearing very fast, and Joshua had said he was simply tired. It had been a long day. Seokmin found out more than he had thought he would ever, and saw something he never thought he would witness, especially between some people who are woven tightly into a basket of people.

A chill hung in the air that night. Joshua turned the heat on in the room after they came inside, after Joshua had told Wonwoo that he was to stay in the room next to them after making some arrangements with the owners, who he knows, of course. They fell asleep, legs intertwined and arms wrapped around each other, promises of a better future told through gentle kisses on noses and foreheads.

Seokmin woke up first the next morning. He was surprised by this, as Joshua was usually the one awake first all of the time, and Seokmin had a very bad habit of oversleeping. The morning followed the same routines as the last one, wherein Seokmin stayed awake and waited for Joshua to follow suit, and once he did they got dressed and headed out.

Wonwoo drove them to an unknown destination, still staying quiet as though Joshua’s words had shaken him to the core. Seokmin’s attention was drawn from the scenery that he had already grown tired of to the hand on his thigh, and a reassuring smile from Joshua, as if he could read his mind and know that he was anxious about something. It wouldn’t be completely off.

“Where are we off to?” Seokmin gently asked, and instead of answering right away, Joshua grabbed his wrist and pulled him in closer.

He whispered in his ear, “We are going to see Seungcheol.”

Seokmin backed away, stunned. “Really?”

Joshua nodded. He put his finger to his lips to tell Seokmin to not say anything else and he nodded, but he still had a million and one questions to ask.

Seokmin tuned out, waiting for them to arrive at their destination. Joshua’s hand rested on his thigh and he felt safe, even under the simple touch of his palm. This was the impact Joshua had on Seokmin. He can’t say exactly when he realized it, but he only knows that whenever Joshua does something small, like put his hand on his thigh, or when he steps up to speak for Seokmin in any situation, Seokmin feels safe. Like Joshua really knows what he’s doing, even though Seokmin is sure he is making it up as he goes.

The place looked like a typical apartment building. An off-white paint on the paneling’s, four floors, many windows and balconies littered every side of it. It seemed odd that out of all places, Seungcheol was here, Seokmin would think somewhere more secure than an apartment building where many people lived, judging by the cars.

Wonwoo simply pulled up and let them out, probably not knowing his former team member was in here, or else Seokmin was sure he would want to see him, too. Seokmin was nervous. What would he say to Seungcheol? What would Seungcheol say to him? Would he look different? Would the sex dungeon have changed him as a person? Joshua seemed to have none of these thoughts running through his mind as he confidently strode up to the door of the apartments, and took a key from his pocket. Where he got this key, Seokmin doesn’t know, Jeonghan probably, but he has one, and they walked into the foyer once the door was open.

Seokmin had no idea where they were going, so he let Joshua take the lead, and he walked up one flight of stairs and onto the landing of the second floor. He turned left, and there was a long hallway ahead of them. They walked until they stopped at the second to last door on the right-hand side, where he pulled out another key.

“Where are you getting all these keys?” Seokmin mumbled.

“Jeonghan.” Joshua mumbled back.

Joshua pushed open the door and a series of jingles were heard. They both quickly stepped in and shut the door, making sure to lock it. There was no noise at first, and then someone came out. It was clearly Seungcheol, but he looked so different, his hair was still black but it had grown to below his eyebrows, split down the middle, looking ruffled. He was most obviously not wearing a shirt, his skin was glistening with what was either water or sweat. He looked surprised, severely surprised, and he smiled brightly and ran forward to hug Joshua.

Joshua didn’t seem to mind that he was wet with whatever it was, and he hugged him back tightly, hand stroking his hair. It was something that he did to everyone, but a flare of jealousy sparked in Seokmin. He wanted Joshua to do that only to him.

“My god, Seungcheol, you have no idea how happy I am to see you.” Joshua said into his hair. Seokmin stood by awkwardly, watching the exchange take place. He felt left out. For a split second, very, very quickly, he felt like it was day 1 all over again. The team would always know each other better than Seokmin would know any of them. It was just how it was meant to be.

Seungcheol laughed. “I thought I would never see you again, Joshua. Holy shit. Thank god for your magic.”

Joshua shook his head. “It wasn’t me, Cheol. It was all Jeonghan. Thank him.”

Seungcheol looked incredulous. “Seriously?” Joshua nodded. Seungcheol smiled brighter. He shook his head.

At this point, Seokmin was sure that Seungcheol had no idea that he was standing there. He was just watching Joshua and Seungcheol catch up as if it’s been years, but it’s only been roughly three months. Seokmin sighed loudly, buy accident of course, and Seungcheol finally looked over.

“Seokmin! You’re still around?” He nodded.

“Yeah, you know, kind of hard to keep my job when someone has compelling evidence that I was hiding Joshua in my house. And I have been here for the last three months. There’s not much I can do without Joshua, you know.”

Seungcheol laughed. “Understandable. It’s a bit weird seeing you out of our positions in the house, but I suppose you’ve had to relocate?” Seungcheol addressed Joshua.

“Oh yeah, tons. All of the team are situated at a house some miles away. I’d take you down there, but it’s hard to without someone driving us.”

“Who brought you here then?” Seungcheol ushered them to sit on the sofas. Seokmin sat next to Joshua while Seungcheol sat adjacent to them on the other sofa.

“Wonwoo. I’m only making him do it. No one else likes to drive us around all the time. They won’t have to for much longer though, we are all relocating. Somewhere better.”

Seungcheol seemed excited at the idea of that. “Where are we going?”

“It’s a surprise. I promise it will be good for everyone.”

Seungcheol nodded and relaxed into the couch. “So Jeonghan got me out, huh?” Seungcheol asked them both, but clearly the question was directed at Joshua.

“Yeah, he was nonstop bugging me on what I’m going to do next and when I’m going to do it. So, I was like, Jeonghan, just take the responsibility since you are so eager about this.” Joshua shook his head. “Not that it wasn’t important, but I had many layers I needed to get through first. I think he just got through them faster.” Seungcheol smiled slightly.

“Thank God.” Seungcheol’s smile slipped slightly. “I almost thought I would never get out.”

Joshua didn’t egg him on anymore, which confused Seokmin. Joshua made Jeonghan talk about how he had to sell his body just for the safety and return of Seungcheol, but he didn’t ask for details this time. Seokmin wanted to know, though.

“What did they tell you when they got ahold of you?” Seokmin questioned. Joshua looked a little shocked, probably at the fact that Seokmin was asking his own questions or maybe because he couldn’t read his signals. Whether or not Joshua wanted Seokmin to ask, he was going to. If he was going to be a part of Joshua’s life for good, he should know the details.

Seungcheol shrugged. “What do you want to know? They told me a lot.”

“How did they know you were in the house?”

Seungcheol looked around as he was thinking. “Something about rigging the front door.”

Seokmin nodded. “Where did they take you?”

“To questioning right after. I don’t remember anything from it I tried my best to block it out. I know I told them that I was the butler and I only worked for Mr. Hong as that.” He shrugged again. “They just kept me in a secluded area for a while before someone told me he had somewhere for me to go, then I ended up at Lotus downtown, and, then Jeonghan came along. I know the shit he had to put himself through and I don’t think I can thank him enough for that.”

“He does, Cheol.” Joshua interrupted. “Trust me. If it were for you, he would do it again. You know him.” Seungcheol looked suspicious about this, and Joshua beat him to saying something else. “He would. Okay?” Seungcheol sighed, and said nothing else.

Seokmin took this time to really inspect him. He still hadn’t put on a shirt, and his hair was hanging in front of his eyes, pieces of his forehead showing. His biceps were large, significantly more so than Seokmin’s, and it suddenly wasn’t so hard to see what exactly his secret occupation was. Now that he’s really getting a good look, he wonders how he could have not noticed. It was odd for Joshua to have a butler who was so… built. Seokmin noticed he had a pretty ugly scar on his left arm. He was almost afraid to ask what caused that, but it could have been anything. Seokmin wondered if Seungcheol was a hitman before being picked up by Joshua. Most likely, it would take time to become as skilled as Jeonghan and Joshua claimed he was.

“You’re a hitman.” Seokmin spoke up again. Seungcheol looked up at him. Joshua didn’t move.

“Yeah.” Seungcheol sighed. “Obviously, I couldn’t really say much more than I am a butler in questioning.”

“How did you hide it so well?” Seokmin was genuinely confused.

Seungcheol cracked a smile. “Years of training. Years of being pushed around by Joshua as if I am a real butler.” At this, Joshua breathed a laugh. “But,” Seungcheol continued. “I tried to make sure they knew nothing about my background. I know that any document that may even hint at the fact that I so much as kill people for a living is hidden very deep in the walls of the mansion in a safe that takes four locks. I couldn’t help but to be worried.”

Seokmin nodded in understanding. He was about to ask another question when Joshua’s phone started ringing, and he looked at the screen before excusing himself into what Seokmin could only assume was Seungcheol’s bedroom. He shut the door, and Seokmin turned back to Seungcheol, the question he was going to ask long forgotten in those mere seconds. They sat in silence, but Seokmin was thinking about anything but the current situation, and he was pretty sure Seungcheol was trying to listen to what Joshua was saying on the phone. It seemed that both of them forgot about the other’s presence, and only remembered once Joshua came out again.

He sat down and said nothing at first, but then he looked to Seungcheol, who was staring back, and spoke. “Get your things ready tonight, I’m assuming you don’t have a lot?” Seungcheol looked around briefly and nodded. “Good. Just got a call from someone who is helping us with all of this. We will be out of here tomorrow morning. Make sure to have everything, I’m going to have Wonwoo come to get us then get you and bring you to where everyone is staying now. It’s official. We’re going?”

“Can we know at least?” Seungcheol begged. Joshua laughed.

“It’s a surprise!” He smiled wickedly. Seokmin could see the harmless intent through it, though.

“Who is going to benefit out of that surprise though?” Seokmin questioned. Joshua looked at him fondly. He smiled again.

“We’re going to stay at Diamond.”

Following the confession, Seokmin found himself back at the hotel an hour later, clean and ready to sleep, Joshua tucked under his arm like usual. He didn’t seem tired though. It would be a while before he fell asleep.

Joshua must have already been sleeping, as the occasional movement that he made didn’t disturb him at all, and his mind was only left wandering as he could feel his body settle down. He thought of what Joshua had said earlier. They were headed to Diamond. While this location seemed strange in all ways, Seokmin understood. He just wished he knew what Joshua was planning with this.

Diamond is the casino in the heart of the country. A huge casino, unmistakable even from miles away. Towering high into the night sky, flashing lights attracting visitors of all kind to come and stay, addicted to the poison of gambling. Seokmin had only been in there once, the aura was incredible. He felt like his head was touching the ceilings which were a good 70 feet high. The floor was absolutely littered with people and all of the machines and games that specialized in helping people rid their money.

The memory was very blurry to him, but he could see clearly where exactly Joshua had in mind, he just didn’t know how it would help them. There was a top floor of the casino that patrons were forbidden from, but there were large, glass overlooking windows that whoever was standing up there could feel like they were watching their own little society drive themselves broke.

He could only guess that their destination was up there, but how exactly Joshua managed to grab that chance, he may never know. Joshua Hong is a sly man.

Seokmin’s body was refusing to move in the morning, but Joshua’s almost domestic fingertip strokes on his face coaxed him up eventually, the warmth from the blankets soon lost in the air. They quickly gathered their things up and threw them all in the center of the room, almost hesitant to leave.

They stood facing each other, just looking, no words being said, but none that needed to be. Joshua took a step forward and cupped Seokmin’s face with his hands, looking up at him slightly. Seokmin gaze back, and the warmth he could see in Joshua’s eyes made his insides feel the same. He felt safe, almost. When Joshua looked at him like he was now, Seokmin felt secure. Seokmin felt like he truly had the weight of the world off of his shoulders and he had nothing but Joshua and the life ahead of him. When Joshua held him close, he felt ready for that world.

Joshua didn’t kiss him. Joshua rarely kisses him, but Seokmin wasn’t mad at that. He stroked his cheek with his thumb and stepped back, nodding once, and that initiated them both to pick up bags and head out to the car. Joshua had informed Seokmin that Wonwoo had cleared the room before they had and was waiting for them, so they left for the car. The sky was overcast, but not raining like it had been the previous few days.

Seokmin threw his share of bags into the trunk along with Joshua’s share and they backed away from the hotel, and Seokmin could only pray that they would have nicer beds where they were headed next.

Joshua leaned over the console and gave Wonwoo directions to follow, and Seokmin could make a guess and say that Wonwoo had no idea that they were getting Seungcheol, as he stayed quiet as he drove. Seokmin doesn’t think in the two rides he has had with Wonwoo has he heard him talk since he had to drag him off of Mingyu, probably out of some sort of shame, or fear that Joshua would let him go. Seokmin figured he now has some sense of authority over Wonwoo. While that thought scared him, it also made him feel bigger, and when the thought crossed his mind, he looked over at Joshua. He felt powerful. Joshua made him powerful.

After ten minutes of driving to the location Seokmin had just seen less than 24 hours ago, Wonwoo pulled up and Joshua told both him and Seokmin to stay and wait a few minutes. Neither of them spoke to each other and Wonwoo was focusing on something in his lap, but Seokmin couldn’t bother to check what it was. Seokmin laid his head back and closed his eyes, nervousness thrumming in his veins but he knew it would only get worse the closer they get to their destination.

The trunk eventually opened and made him jump slightly, but he calmed when he heard Joshua’s voice telling Seungcheol to get in the back seat. The trunk opened just when the back door opened and Wonwoo only paid attention finally when the passenger side door opened and Joshua stepped in. He looked confused for a moment before looking back and doing a double take. He looked like he was being fooled with.

“What the hell?” Seungcheol didn’t do much except for holding his hands out in presentation and folding them back up. “Where have you been? You’ve been here? I brought you here yesterday and you didn’t even tell me you were coming to see him?” Wonwoo accused Joshua.

“Don’t get loud with me. I had my reasons for not saying anything. Now just go to the house, I’m sure everyone should be ready by now.”

Wonwoo shook his head and started driving with a sigh. Seungcheol rested his own head, and from the corner of his eyes, Seokmin could see his long hair blocking his eyes, but it didn’t seem to bother him. He dozed off for the ride, but Seokmin seemed to be wide awake now.

They pulled up to the house and Joshua told them to leave the bags in the back. They all piled out and Wonwoo went in first at the request of Joshua. Seokmin recognized the foyer entrance, and he followed Joshua through the entryway to the living room where there seemed to be an abundance of people this time. He noticed a few things when he walked in.

One, Mingyu seemed to shut down when he got a look at Wonwoo walking in and turned away quickly. He had a clean black eye and tape over the bridge of his nose, a crusted over split in his lip that looked like it would take some time to heal, and he was sporting a look of a broken heart. Seokmin wanted to hug him. He turned away into Junhui’s side. Wonwoo seemed to notice this and distanced himself as much as he could.

Two, everyone was restless, and no one seemed to have a grip of what was going on. Seokmin had an inkling that Joshua told no one where they were off to, except maybe Jeonghan. They all stopped to watch them walk in the door, and the reactions they had to them and to Seungcheol sky rocketed.

There were gasps and stunned silences, and a few even ran forward to hug him. Seokmin stepped out of the way and let everyone enjoy the fact that Seungcheol was in fact alive and in the flesh, and walked over to Joshua.

Joshua was chatting with Jeonghan, who figured he saw Seungcheol enough that he didn’t have to flock to him immediately. Seokmin could tell he wanted to talk to him though. He pushed that urge away and turned to Joshua.

“Everyone ready?” He asked Jeonghan. Jeonghan nodded.

“All of their stuff is downstairs by the garage exit. If Wonwoo brought the car down that way we are ready to leave whenever. You call the shots boss.” Jeonghan quirked a smile. Joshua nodded.

“All the clothes are ready?” Jeonghan nodded again.

“Finished them with Jun’s help yesterday. They have their own separate bag.”

“Good. We can go in a bit. I have everything down there sorted out already, where everyone is staying, what everyone is to be doing at every time, but the owner can tell them that.” Joshua relaxed back into the couch. “what’s going to happen to this place?”

“I don’t know. Guess it will continue to stay virtually abandoned.” Jeonghan shrugged.

People had started to drift away from Seungcheol but a few still remained, Seokmin recognized one of them as Hansol, and the other chubby cheeked one whose name he couldn’t seem to stick on his mind. Seokmin looked around at everyone. He doesn’t think he has seen everyone in a place like this in a long time. The few who flitted around Seungcheol couldn’t stop talking excitedly, and Seungcheol made his best effort to listen intently, set on making sure they all got a chance to tell him what they wanted to say. The skinny blonde one, again, Seokmin was bad at names of those who he hasn’t seen in a while, was sitting beside Junhui and Mingyu; Junhui listening to the boy say something and Mingyu looking off into space, occasionally touching the bandage on his nose. Jihoon was talking to another boy animatedly, a vast difference from how he last saw Jihoon. And the three of them were sitting on the couch, Jeonghan leaning on Joshua and Joshua ready to bounce up and leave. Wonwoo was alone in the kitchen, not doing much of anything. He figured Wonwoo would be driving again.

Joshua stood up. “Is everyone ready to go?” Everyone turned and nodded, some looked afraid, some looked excited. “Who’s driving? Wonwoo, Jeonghan, and who?” Jihoon raised his hand. “Perfect.” Joshua took a deep breath in and clapped his hands. “Let’s go.”

They all filtered out of the garage and into cars, grabbing bags in their way and tossing them into the car that each person would be part of. With Wonwoo, Joshua and himself, Seokmin had Seungcheol join him. In the car Jeonghan was driving, the three youngest climbed in the back and was accompanied by Soonyoung (Seokmin was informed his name when he had to regretfully ask Seungcheol, who laughed and told him his name). In the last car with Jihoon, it was Mingyu, Junhui, and Minghao (again, thanks Seungcheol). Jeonghan was leading the way, Seokmin could only assume this was because Jeonghan was Joshua’s right-hand man in this, as he seemed to share many private words with him.

Seokmin bounced his leg as they sped down the highway, each mile passing was one mile closer to the destination at hand. Seokmin wondered how the young ones would take to this new environment, as they were too young to have been in a place like this, or at least he hoped so. He doesn’t even know who is going where, what the living situation is, or anything related to that. He figured what loss would it be to ask.

“Hey, Joshua?” Seokmin asked to the seat in front of him, and he heard a hum. “What exactly is going on when we get there?”

He heard Joshua click his tongue before speaking. “Well, they basically have this, like, super high class living space at the top of the casino but it’s not in use because the owner doesn’t want to give it away, but you know I know my way around everything. He’s letting us stay for, well, as long as we please!” He laughed, and something sounded off about it, like Joshua knew something Seokmin didn’t. He turned around to lean across the console, looking at Seokmin. “There are multiple spaces for living, and everyone will be put in their own area. Between us, and you two,” He looked to the driver, who simply averted his eyes for a second and nodded, and Seungcheol, who saluted him. Joshua turned back to Seokmin. “We have the best living space. Best view of the game floor and, how should I say it, highest price point living space?” He nodded. “That sounds right.”

“Highest price point? But we’re staying? How much are we paying for this, though?” Joshua smiled at him. Seungcheol snickered. Joshua shrugged. When he spoke, his words were long and drawn out, a tone he had only ever heard from him when he first met him, a tone Seokmin knows he uses when he is manipulating someone in any way that Joshua wants them.

“Nothing… as long as I keep my metaphorical gun aimed at his temple.” He smiled. It was a wicked smile.

The sun was high in the sky when they pulled up to the grand building, roof touching the clouds, the neon signs had their lights off but the colors were still clearly visible, and his heart was in his throat. Seeing it up close was much more nerve wracking than thinking about it, but he can’t put his finger on why it was exactly. He didn’t know if he actually had to do anything, he wasn’t putting on a show and he wasn’t getting in front of a crowd, but there was a bubbling anxiety under his skin that he couldn’t chase away. He gulped, and took his head away from the window.

Instead of pulling up to the front of the casino where the driveway was long and there was an overhang to shield the gamblers from any weather increment, they went around the building, and pulled into the parking garage. They proceeded to drive up two levels before pulling over to the side, where there was another dip in the perimeter of the building and another overhang was above them, mimicking the ground level. Unlike the ground level, though, this circular driveway was much smaller, clearly only used for authorized personnel. Seokmin supposed that that is what they are now.

Jeonghan, who was ahead of the gang, stopped the car in front of the driveway, just in reach of the entrance doors. There was no one else here but them, so he assumed that they either had to walk right in or someone would come and escort them. Whichever it was, he did not want to go in first.

“Wait here,” Joshua spoke to those in the car, then stepped out, and walked into the doors. No one moved, no one spoke. Everyone, even the people in the car in front and behind him, Seokmin assumed, waited in anxiousness, for what Joshua had in store. Really, besides Jeonghan, no one knew anything. And maybe Jeonghan only knew the tip of the iceberg as well.

After a minute, Joshua came back out, Seokmin audibly sighed in relief. He had someone following him, and Seokmin looked closely at him. He couldn’t say he looked at all familiar, but he looked like he most certainly wasn’t just letting them stay for no price. Well, maybe the price of being threatened.

Joshua used a hand motion to tell everyone to step out. Wonwoo turned the keys to shut the car and hopped out, then Seungcheol, and Seokmin was last. He noticed how Joshua put his hand on the man’s elbow when he spoke to him. This arose a flurry of emotions inside of him, and none of them were particularly favorable.

He stepped out. The air was frigid, but cooling. Everyone walked closer to the two, but no one spoke. Seokmin looked around at everyone. The wind was mussing up everyone’s hair, but they were all focused on the man who belonged to the casino. They waited for Joshua to start talking.

“Everyone, please meet a good friend of mine. He owns the casino and was nice enough to let us stay. Yukhei, meet the crew.” Joshua gestured to everyone. Seokmin filled with unexplainable rage.

Actually, it was explainable. Joshua was using the tone that he used when Seokmin first met him. That flirty tone. That secretive tone, the tone that says I’m so much more than you see, and you can see more if you so want.

The anger was explainable in the sense that Seokmin knew what caused the anger, but unexplainable in the sense that he can touch upon why exactly it made him mad.

Joshua wasn’t his. Joshua didn’t belong to anybody, nor did he own anyone in turn no matter how much he acts like it. Joshua didn’t belong to Seokmin, yet why did Seokmin feel like he did? Why did Seokmin feel like he should be the only one that Joshua uses this tone on? Why did seeing Joshua talk to this man like that make him so angry, make him feel like Joshua was his?

Seokmin stood stiff, staring at the man. To be fair, the man looked uninterested, and maybe even annoyed. With every passing second that Joshua spoke to him, Seokmin didn’t even remember his name, he saw him getting closer and closer to saying something that might get him in trouble. Every time it looked like he was about to speak up, Seokmin could see Joshua’s grip on his elbow get tighter and his tone got harsher.

“Everyone, Yukhei is here to assist you in whatever it is. He was nice enough to give us this amazing place to stay to make sure we stay out of the way or the public eye, so your safety is all thanks to him.” Joshua looked at everyone, and Seokmin could tell that the man, Yukhei, was clearly opposed to this, but it’s not like he could say anything to Joshua. Joshua was probably threatening his job, or his life, or to steal all of his money and take over Diamond. It seemed like a Joshua thing to do.

“Let’s get settled in, yes?” Joshua nodded his head, and everyone scurried around to grab their bags. As Seokmin was turning to go back to the car, he saw Joshua turn to Yukhei out of the corner of his eye, and say something to him. He was much too close to him for comfort, but Seokmin swallowed that down and grabbed his bags out of the car. He took three while Seungcheol took his own one and Joshua’s three for him. The drivers were ushered out of the cars by valet and put deep into the parking garage. Seokmin watched the black cars disappear.

With a motion of his hand, and a less than happy looking Yukhei next to him, Joshua let everyone follow him through the building.

It looked like a hotel at first glance. There was a little lobby with elevators on both sides of them, and a wall of glass in front of them. After the lobby, on either side of them were long hallways, they curved around the center of the building so every room had a window right over the game floor.

From the wall of glass, Seokmin could see the emptiness of the casino, and this window had to be the best view in the house. Spread out in front of them, like a huge painting, was the game floor all the way to the ceiling. All of the fancy lights were suspended from the ceiling and all of the railing on the stairs were glistening chrome, it was honestly something Seokmin would only ever see in a dream. The color scheme made him feel at home, almost. The carpeting was royal purple, and the chrome accenting was silver. There was a lilac purple decorating the smaller things, like the stairs’ landings, and little jewels hanging off the magnificent chandeliers to bathe the room in a purple glow. Right now, the skylights were coating the room in the natural light, making the space look wider.

There was chatter all around them, but Seokmin payed no mind to any of it. He could hear footsteps running down the halls, he assumed those were the hurried footsteps of everyone who was eager to see their new living space. And while Seokmin was eager, too, he wanted to find something else out first.

Joshua didn’t approach him. Instead he stayed by the side, chatting with Seungcheol and Yukhei, well, only Joshua and Seungcheol were chatting. Seokmin watched them with curiosity. Joshua said something to Yukhei, giving him a look, which sent Seokmin’s stomach into his throat, and Joshua led Seungcheol away and down the hall, out of sight. Yukhei stood still for a moment, then joined Seokmin’s side in looking out of the glass wall to the empty casino floor.

The bags were on the floor besides Seokmin’s feet. They stood there in silence, Seokmin lifted his chin in examining him. His hair looked soft and pliable, a dirty blonde. He was wearing all white, a crème turtleneck underneath a white blazer. Seokmin could see his jaw shift under his skin.

“Something on my jacket?” He spoke with an accent. If Seokmin could put two and two together, his name and the accent, he could guess he was foreign. Seokmin sighed.

“I wish.” Yukhei turned his head, probably trying to jab back at him, but he only grinded his teeth again and turned back to the window, watching the sunlight hide behind clouds and come back out again. Seokmin turned to the game floor as well. “How much for your head if you go back on this agreement with Joshua?”

Yukhei curtly laughed, humorless. “Agreement is a strong word. I think the rather elementary word to understanding this situation would be so much, a threat.” He sighed.

“What’s he got laid out for you then? First, your head. Then, I assume Diamond. Then probably your income, maybe your lineage’s as well.”

Yukhei turned to him. “You’re a fucking detective or something?” He didn’t move his body, he swayed side to side lightly, but he kept his eyes focused on Seokmin. “It doesn’t matter to you what Joshua is threatening to do with me if I let any information out of these grounds. Quite frankly, if it weren’t for what I represent by owning Diamond then I could move all of you onto the streets if I wanted.” He turned back to the window.

“So it’s about heredity then? ‘What I represent’ must only mean the people who passed you this company, correct?” Yukhei said nothing. “I know you think you have a place of authority here since you own it. And I respect that.” Seokmin took a step towards him. Yukhei turned his head. “But as long as Joshua and I are within this building, when you’re dealing with us, you’ll never be superior. And this isn’t me being cocky. I’m acknowledging that I know fully what Joshua could do to you if he was so much as bored.” Seokmin backed up again. “One wrong move and, well, you better hope your head is worth a lot.” He looked back to the window. He cleared his throat. “And yes, I was a detective for several years.”

Neither of them moved until Seokmin spoke again. “You look a bit young to run a place as grand as this. What’s up with that?”

“I’m 23.” Yukhei sounded. He made no movement. Seokmin nodded.

“Daddy give you this place or what?”

“Yes.” Yukhei sighed quietly, but Seokmin heard. “Done, Sherlock?”

Seokmin stared at him. Yukhei didn’t budge. “Yeah. I’m done.” He picked up his bags. “Where’s Joshua?”

“To your left. Room 4E.” Seokmin started walking in that direction. He turned around to ask Yukhei when the flurry of people would be rushing in, assuming Joshua only cares about his own safety and not about the patrons, but in Yukhei’s place was nothing but dust.

Joshua was right, their room had quite possibly the best seats in the house. The window in front of them had a clear view of the layout on the lower floor, and Seokmin was able to see people climbing the stairs to the bar, or people chatting in what they thought were hidden corners. Seokmin wonders how Joshua managed to score this room.

“You’re here. Were you busy?” Joshua’s voice sounded from the room. The living room was quite grand, a dip in the floor for a circular couch, a king bed to the right and a shower to the left, a shielded curtain for the toilet. Open plan bedroom. The shower was perfectly visible from the bed. Seokmin figured he could have fun with that.

“Yeah, a little.” He walked over to Joshua who was putting his clothes into drawers and on hangers, suspended by rods on the walls. “Yukhei’s a character.”

Joshua snickered. “If his daddy wasn’t so connected to Yejun I’m sure he wouldn’t care about us.” Joshua stood. “Lucky for us, though, he loves his social status.” Joshua whispered, as if it were a secret. Seokmin, however, found that out within seconds.

Seokmin looked around the room, noticing the lighting, a bunch of recessed lighting, with one track light by the shower, and one over the bed. The bulbs inside those track lights looked red. There was carpet below his feet, a dark red olefin. The circular couch was white with a round coffee table in the center, a glass top with metal legs. The window was the best part, everything was on display, especially at this time of day with the sunlight highlighting all of the corners and crevices, allowing Seokmin to map everything out.

He walked over to Joshua who was sitting on the floor by a dresser, stuffing what looked to be sweaters in. Seokmin looked up to the wall where the clothes were hanging off of a single length of pipe, obviously for the purpose of aesthetic, and he couldn’t ignore the obvious presence of two pieces of clothing that were forever ingrained in Seokmin’s mind.

“You brought the robes?”

Joshua hummed. “If we’re living like we’re rich again, I should dress the part, yeah?” Seokmin nodded. He remembered what he was angry about earlier.

Joshua was still seated on the floor, dressed in short shorts, black, with a belt, a button-down shirt tucked into the waistband, the first four buttons undone. The shirt was hanging loosely, looking like it was much too big for his slim figure.

“Why were you speaking to Yukhei like that?” Seokmin asked from above Joshua. Said man looked up.

“Like what?” He looked innocent, but Seokmin could see hints of a smirk playing at his lips.

“Like how you spoke to me the first time we met.” Joshua let the smirk take over his face, and he stood.

He approached Seokmin. “Talked to him like I wanted to fuck him?”

Seokmin looked at him, eyes half lidded. He hummed. Joshua placed a hand on his chest. “Jealous?”

Seokmin wrapped his own hand around Joshua’s. “Why do I feel like this?” He whispered.

Joshua took a step closer to him. “Do you want me to be yours?”

Seokmin took a deep breath in. He knew he should say no, because Joshua shouldn’t belong to anyone, and he knows Joshua was smart enough to know this as well. He wanted to say no, because if Joshua let Seokmin think like this, he knew he could become extremely jealous over the most insignificant things. He wanted to say no. He should say no.

“Yes.”

Joshua smirked ad wrapped his arms around Seokmin’s neck, pulling him close. Their faces were mere centimeters apart, but neither of them made any motion to move closer. Joshua snaked his hand through Seokmin’s hair, his nails ever so slightly skimming across his scalp. It took everything in him to suppress a hard shiver.

“Aren’t I already?”

In an instant, Seokmin wrapped an arm around Joshua’s waist and pulled him flush against his body, staring straight into his eyes. Seokmin felt animalistic. He had never felt saw raw emotion for someone, never felt such eagerness to be wanted, or the want to be owned.

“Are you?” His voice was low, giving away a faux composure that he knew he didn’t have. Joshua simply nodded. “Then why did you think that was necessary?” Slowly, the smile slipped off of Joshua’s face, and he stared into the eyes of raw jealousy, not that Seokmin would say that he was jealous. He saw how Yukhei acted like he wouldn’t help Joshua if he didn’t have to. He didn’t know why he was jealous.

Maybe it was because Joshua did it at all. Maybe it was because Joshua felt the need to seduce like that. Maybe it was because Joshua was contradicting his words with his actions. Maybe because Seokmin already knew what Joshua was saying; Seokmin already knew Joshua was his.

“I just need to take some precautionary actions.” Joshua murmured.

“Well don’t.” Seokmin growled, an animalistic instinct that he never knew he had coming forward. “It won’t be needed anymore.” He pulled away from Joshua after that, standing a few feet away from him before grabbing a bag and helping him unpack. Joshua slowly sunk back down to his knees and started helping again, obvious shock written all over his face.

Yukhei proved to be as useless as Seokmin had insinuated, the only times he had seen him he was pacing the game floor and climbing the stairs to each one of the bars to speak to bartenders and do nothing else. Occasionally, he would look around as if he were afraid he was being followed, and it made Seokmin wonder what exactly he was hiding. Once, and only once, did he look up to their window and meet Seokmin’s eyes. He walked away and didn’t look up again.

By the time the sun started to set, the masses started to pour in. So early in the night but the floor was already swarmed, a sight Seokmin never thought he would see from up above. Some of them looked like they bathed in money, were born into it, birthed by money itself. Others looked like they were new to this whole thing, and even though that’s how Seokmin felt, Joshua made sure that he sure as hell didn’t look that way.

As if Joshua were his own personal coach, he told him what to do and what not to do, how to speak to people and how to effectively avoid them. It sounded like Joshua had done this one too many times, but Seokmin didn’t ask. He just took in the information. He would rather hear it from Joshua than Yukhei.

Joshua had dressed him in one of the suits tailored by Jeonghan, and he had to admit, it fit him perfectly. His legs looked sinful, and by the look Joshua was giving him, he thought so as well. The pinstripe made him look tall, and he had to admit that he looked rich. He may be indirectly rich because of Joshua, but the way that the suit fit him so perfectly it made him look like he was the one who was raised by dollar signs.

He walked out of his door and looked down the hallway, seeing no one but hearing music and a lot of chatter from the ground floor. He looped around to the wide window, feeling an entirely different feeling than he had earlier this morning.

There was a significant lack of sunlight as the moon was high above them, the light was coming from the massive chandeliers with thousands of jewels, the purple ones were casting a glow over the patrons weaving around each other. The aura was much brighter than it had been earlier despite the lack of natural light. There were bright spotlights shining down in various places, and truly, like a king, he could see every little action, every movement, like he was the ruler. Up here, watching all this movement and hearing all this noise, he was an emperor.

He took a deep breath in, his head held higher than ever, and made his way over to the hidden set of stairs, out of the way of patrons who might try to weasel their way up. One hand in his pocket and the other by his side, he strode down the stairs and into the limelight, gazing at the ranging emotions amongst everyone. Some were ecstatic at the amount of money that had just entered their pockets, others were considerably miserable due to the loss of it; some were borderline tipsy, stumbling in their shoes over to the next bar on the second floor, the opposite were stuff and rigid, obviously here for someone else.

His footsteps felt light on the royal purple carpeting, floating through the crowd while only a select few were paying attention to him, more women than men. Most of them followed him gingerly, looking for nothing more than a few more dollars to weight their pockets down, a few even approached him, and he skillfully kept his composure. Some women asked him if he was the owner. He dodged this question in a way that left them wondering.

He passed by many tables, namely roulette, poker, blackjack. Every now and then there were cheers and screams of rejoice, and he even saw one or two people in tears.

While this place certainly was broad, the chaos held Seokmin together. He felt in place, despite arriving a mere 10 hours earlier.

He stood in the middle of the floor, looking out at the scenery. The ceiling was miles above him and the range of colors reflecting on every obstacle in the room made him feel like he was almost hallucinating.

He felt a surge of power rush through his veins. He felt invincible. Standing here, knowing just what kind of view he has over everyone, it was incredible. Where he stood on the ground floor with them, he was as small as they were. He could change that in a minute if he wanted to. He could see everything from the top, and he was living for that feeling. Everyone looked at him like he was just another piece of meat roaming around, looking to get lucky with either a woman or cash, but he was way above them. Seokmin confidently walked along the floors like he owned the place, only because the place provided for him was just about the best seat in the house.

There was noise everywhere but it was not hard to think. Seokmin could hear himself very clearly. He held his head up, nose to the sky, smirk painted on his face as he greeted everyone, and every once in a while, he wouldn’t say no when asked the question of if he was the owner. It was a rushing feeling. If this is what Yukhei feels like all the time, he thinks, this is better than any drug on the planet.

A hand was on his shoulder. “Hey,” A sultry voice was heard before he even turned around. He didn’t recognize it. “New here?” A man about his height was speaking to him, his white shirt looked crisp and his shoes, expensive. Seokmin didn’t care to ask for a name, he knew he wouldn’t remember.

“Yes. What’s it to you?” He asked, not in a snarky way, but with an attitude that let it be known that he wasn’t fooling around.

The man laughed in a short, quick breath. Looking Seokmin up and down. “Who are you even? First time here and you act like you have this place under control.” The man straightened his posture, trying to become bigger than Seokmin, but Seokmin didn’t try to fight back.

“Because I do.” Seokmin dropped his voice to a whisper. “You forgot to answer my question. What’s it to you?”

He heard this clearly despite the low tone and the noise. “Just looking for some fresh meat.” He took a step closer to Seokmin. For the first time, he felt a little bit intimidated.

A hand was slapped onto the other man’s chest, and he jumped, looking at the perpetrator. Seokmin looked over too, and was shocked at what he saw.

It was Yukhei, and he had the man by the collar. “Let’s move along buddy.”

“And who are you?” The man bit back at Yukhei. He shrugged.

“Don’t worry about it.” He shoved hard on his chest and sent him tumbling back, but he still regained himself. He shook his head once, looking exasperated, and walked away. While Seokmin was watching him go, he turned around to say a word of thanks to Yukhei, albeit not as thankful as he actually was, but the man was gone. He was wearing all white still, but he seemed to blend right in to the masses, and he was lost to Seokmin’s eyes.

After that encounter, he walked quicker, but not quick enough for anyone but himself to notice. He grew bored of being on the floor, everyone down there thought he was made of money. He weaved around to the back staircase again and climbed up, bringing him back to the window. He liked this view much better. Up here, he could be as big as he wanted to.

This view made him speechless. He had no words to describe the absolute surge of power that would come over him as he stood before the view. He looked around at the perimeter, realizing that the windows that were thought to lead to outside light were actually the rooms that everyone was staying in. Directly in front of him was his own, and the sight made his breath hitch.

He saw Joshua, but it wasn’t the fact that he could see him that clearly that shocked him. Joshua, much like the first time they met, was standing there, hand on the window, and he knew Seokmin was looking at him. He tilted his head, and Seokmin’s eyes travelled down, noticing that he was wearing the pink mesh robe, feathers on the hems and nothing underneath. Seokmin couldn’t see that there was nothing underneath but he just knew there wasn’t. Joshua turned around and Seokmin could clearly see his ass, and he wondered if anyone downstairs was looking up, watching this happen. Joshua reached the back wall and hit something, making the room go dark, and Joshua was no longer visible. Without wasting a second, Seokmin raced over to the room.

The door was unlocked when he approached it, and he stepped in immediately. It wasn’t dark but rather dimmed, there was a pink flush of light taking over everything, and it was suddenly the most sensual situation he had ever been in.

He didn’t see Joshua immediately, but when he did, he took a sharp breath in. This was something he hadn’t seen yet with Joshua, but he wasn’t mad at it.

His robe was abandoned on the floor and Joshua was inside the shower, which was wide open for anyone in the room to view, and Joshua was in there, back turned to Seokmin, ass on full display. Seokmin only watched for a second, the shower streams hitting his skin and running down the curves of his body. Joshua’s hair was slicked back onto his head, and when he turned around and locked eyes with Seokmin, a few drops of water was running down his face. He lifted his hand and summoned Seokmin over with his finger. Like a pet, Seokmin obeyed instantly.

Joshua turned back around and simply waited for Seokmin, and said man was quick to rid of his clothes, and once he shed the last piece he slid open the glass door and stepped right in next to Joshua, and he placed his hand on his waist.

Joshua turned around and placed a hand on Seokmin’s chest and backed him into the heated tile wall, lust clouding his eyes and he drew closer and closer. Quickly, they were chest to chest, and Joshua’s nose was pressed up against Seokmin’s.

“One night in and you’re already back in your rich bitch mindset?” Seokmin joked, slightly breathless. Joshua bit his lip and let his hands roam free on Seokmin’s chest and torso.

“It’s only truly who I am.” Joshua smirked and winked at Seokmin playfully. “Besides,” He continued. “It’s hard to keep up a front when seeing you dressed like the richest man alive. It’s a sexy look on you.”

“Is it?” Seokmin mumbled. Joshua placed his thumb and index finger on Seokmin’s chin, pulling him in close.

“It is. It’s just so fitting for you. You were meant for this.” Joshua murmured on his lips.

“Meant for this.” Seokmin repeated, like Joshua had put him under a spell. Joshua hummed and nodded.

“You’re crazy if you don’t think the same thing.” Joshua shook his head and looked up at Seokmin through his hooded eyes. Joshua pulled away, not kissing Seokmin but he was not surprised by this action.

Instead of letting Joshua do whatever ministration he had next, Seokmin grabbed Joshua by the waist and pushed his back against the tile, hearing the slight gasp that came from him as he did so. He stared at Joshua. There was one single light above them, drenching them both in a yellowish glow that contrasted with the red light of the room around them. The water reflected the light right over their heads, and whenever Joshua moved slightly, light would bounce off of him and into Seokmin’s eyes, but he didn’t look away. How could he look away when it was Joshua Hong?

Joshua laughed once, and wrapped his arms around Seokmin’s neck. He pulled himself closer so that every part of their bodies was touching, his fingers were threaded within Seokmin’s hair and he pulled, Seokmin hissed, but it felt good to him.

“What have you been up to while I was downstairs, hm?” Seokmin asked him.

“Waiting for you.” His hand snaked down to his back, scratching lightly. “It was so boring. I don’t know why you went down in the first place.” He fakes a frown, and Seokmin wanted to kiss it right off of his face. Seokmin knew Joshua was doing this just to rouse Seokmin, and it was working.

Seokmin said nothing, and instead nudged Joshua’s head to the side with his own and got at his neck, lightly scraping his teeth against the soft flesh and biting gently, his lips attaching and sucking. Joshua made a noise, something of a moan as Seokmin’s lips and tongue worked carefully. His hand grabbed onto Joshua’s body, the slim man was nothing but waist, but his hands made their way to his ass, squeezing gently, turning Joshua into putty in his hands.

Joshua put up no fight as he let Seokmin pin him roughly against the tiled wall, marking up his neck and bruising his skin from his rough touch. Seokmin knew Joshua loved this. Joshua knew this was one of the many reasons Seokmin didn’t turn away from him. Seokmin knew this was one of the many reasons why he stays.

The mornings proved to be much to slow for anyone’s liking, everyone was eager for the night to start up again.

They all woke up and fled to a room that Yukhei had directed them to, through the vast hallways and below a level, which Seokmin thought only existed for the purpose of structure, but it was a hall. A dining hall, and Yukhei had informed everyone they were to have their meals there every day. Seokmin knows he doesn’t remember coming here yesterday, so it was stranger to see the owner only speak about it today.

Everyone around him seemed to enjoy the atmosphere. No one thought anything was out of place, of course, because they were so wrapped up in what they were actually doing to consider the surroundings. Seokmin was hardwired to think like that, though. He was always looking around them, he felt too exposed in a place like this. Endless assurance from Joshua was not enough to make him think he was okay. It was not due to the sole doings of one of their crew, who had been screwing around and ran off the property. It wasn’t Joshua, though Seokmin did think he was being overly trusting to Yukhei. Joshua seemed too sure of himself at times. He hadn’t thought through anything entirely, and Seokmin often thinks about the poor planning when he showed up at his door a few months ago.

It was Yukhei. He was shifty to Seokmin. Seokmin always caught him whenever he was looking at them from a distance, when he caught his eye he would turn away and act like nothing happened. He would stalk close by sometimes, he would hover. Sometimes he seemed so uninterested in conversation with Joshua, then other times he listened intently. It plagued Seokmin with thoughts. The way his personality made a harsh shift, and then straight back to how it was.

Yukhei often narrowed his eyes at the team, like they were doing something they shouldn’t be, when in reality they would only stand there, talk to the patrons, and mind their own business. Seokmin had an inkling that Yukhei didn’t want them there.

He put this information together over the course of a few days. The only thing that differed between those days was the people, the conversations, and wherever Yukhei was located.

Tonight, however, Seokmin didn’t retreat to the game floor, but remained floating around on the second floor, passing by bars and again, effectively dodging sneaky hands.

He leaned over the bar and watched everyone slide along on the floor below him, people sometimes looked up but they paid him no mind, it was straight back to the main attraction for them.

The feeling he got while he watched over everyone was intense, indescribable. He brought the power he felt over Joshua into his aura on the floor, and he felt ten times bigger than he really was. He felt like he owned the world.

The next few days passed by without consequences. It was basically wash, rinse repeat for Seokmin, the days proved to be as entertaining as the nights. There were hallways and rooms he was discovering every day, admittedly, he doesn’t know if he was supposed to know about some of them, but he found them. The team seemed to be getting happier as the days went on. On the low, Seokmin tried to keep a close eye out for Mingyu. He wanted to make sure Wonwoo got nowhere near him, or if Mingyu went to Wonwoo for some masochistic reason. Luckily, he never saw either of them together.

He soon found out that Friday nights were the busiest. While he wished he could stay up in his room with half naked Joshua parading around in his robes holding a glass of champagne, he goes downstairs to watch over everyone, but he knew he had no real reason to.

Seokmin doesn’t have an answer as to why he goes down to the game floor. Yukhei never established that he was in charge, never established that he was to start doing something like that. He assumes its due to the conversation they had during their first meeting, since then, Seokmin just felt superior.

On this one Friday night, however, it was strange to see that Yukhei wasn’t in his line of sight. Yes, the man usually darts in and out of rooms and side conversations and purposefully ducks out of the public eye, but he was nowhere to be seen this time. Seokmin moved high and low, weaving in and out of the crowd, searching for the tall man with that unforgettable face. He didn’t like the feeling that was growing in his stomach at the realization that he was nowhere to be seen. He ran up to the hidden staircase and ascended.

There was no real reason as to why this was bothering him, probably because Seokmin felt like he was actually in charge now, and an absence of the real owner made it feel like that. Seokmin always felt like Yukhei was up to no good. He wanted to make sure he wasn’t able to go through with any plan he might be making.

He busted through the doors of the top floor, ran around the bend and nearly crashed into Seungkwan in the process. He apologized to the boy but wasted no time in continuing down to his room. He opened the door, Joshua usually kept it open as no one but Seokmin would come in, or know it’s unlocked.

Joshua was sitting at the edge of their large bed, shoulders of the black mesh robe hanging off of his shoulders and the now empty glass sitting on the floor by his feet. He was startled by the commotion.

“Where is Yukhei?” Seokmin tried to sound merely curious, but he was sure it didn’t work when Joshua raised a brow.

“How come?” Seokmin just stood there for a second, exhaled deeply and hunched his shoulders. He didn’t move from his spot.

“I don’t trust him, Joshua. I think he’s up to some sneaky shit. It’s concerning that you trust him so much.”

Joshua cracked a smile. Seokmin’s eye twitched. “I have a knife at his throat, Seokmin. He can’t do anything.”

“Have you seen him, though?” Seokmin finally walked inside and shut the door behind him. “He looks at me like he has shit figured out that I couldn’t figure out in a million years. He is always giving me this fucking look then walking away like he knows shit about me that I don’t even know. He’s up to something.”

“Don’t worry so much. You should know you can trust me.” Joshua said, watching Seokmin walk in circles.

“Joshua, you know I trust you. For fucks sake, if I didn’t, I wouldn’t be here right now. You’d probably be in prison.” Joshua said nothing. “So I trust you. But I think you’re missing some things here.”

“You think so?” Joshua didn’t sound convinced, instead sounded like he was only comforting Seokmin.

Seokmin stopped pacing, and walked over to the window. He took a deep breath, closing his eyes for a second and reopening them, the scene in front of him unchanging. Only now did he realize there were no lights on in the room, the purple glow was coming from the main attraction through the large panel of glass. Seokmin looked at Joshua. He looked surreal, all of his features highlighted with a lilac glow. His collarbones glistened. He let Seokmin stare, he let Seokmin have his crazy theories.

Was this was made Seokmin stay? Was it the fact that Seokmin felt free with Joshua, when, in reality, he was the complete opposite of free? The mere comfort of Joshua’s presence seemed to infiltrate in his brain and rewire all of his workings. Right and wrong became blurred. It was blurred right now. Maybe Yukhei was good. Maybe Seokmin was paranoid. Joshua was trustworthy, but something about Yukhei gets under his skin.

“I think so.” Seokmin finally answered.

“Find out. You’re smart enough to figure it out.”

Seokmin left the room shortly after, not doing much of anything besides walking around the upper floor, watching everyone scream and chant, of course keeping an eye out for the owner himself as well. People bumped by him on their way to the bars, not muttering anything close to an apology, but he wasn’t surprised.

He has been doing this for a week now. For some reason, he doesn’t seem to get bored. Eventually, he figured he might, but for now, it was a whole new experience completely out of his range. He was embracing the brand-new feel of the atmosphere.

One thing he doesn’t think he could ever get over is the architecture of this grand building. He had no words to describe it, but the feeling he got was close to euphoria when he stood in the middle, gazing up at the ceiling, the nighttime black sky only serving to further illuminate the silver in the beams running across the whole building, the crystals on the ceiling refracting light everywhere, he saw a couple rainbows in certain spots, printing the color spectrum on people’s hair as they walked underneath.

He was in a trance by the light fragments, when he caught sight of a white suit prowling around the perimeter of the building. He wasn’t alone, well, he was, but he was occupied with the phone pressed up to his ear. His eyes roamed the top floor carefully, and once he caught sight of Seokmin, he stared, kept talking, and quickly ducked away. Seokmin followed hastily.

He wove through the thick crowd, ignoring roaming hands and people who stumbled in front of him at the last second. To them, he just pushed them aside, his eyes never leaving the door that Yukhei walked out through.

Seokmin pushed it open as soon as he reached it, looking around into the long vacant hallway and started the trek down to the lone door at the end. This hallway was a drastic difference to the any other piece of the building, as it was only made of white brick and a single light in the center of the hallway. Realistically, this spelled danger, but Seokmin knew somewhat how to deal with danger, so he persisted on. The only sound throughout the hallway was his footsteps, and it was jarring how he could no longer hear the outside world.

Before he could reach the door, it burst open, shocking him, and he came face to face with Yukhei.

“Suspicious? Don’t pretend like you haven’t been watching my every move like a goddamn hawk.” Yukhei came right up to Seokmin’s nose, and while he had an inch on Seokmin, the older man was not intimidated.

“I know you’re up to shit, Yukhei.”

Yukhei slowly started to laugh right in his face. “You think you have everything figured out, huh? Think you know everything? You came from a police department, figuring out most of their cases so due to that you know what I’m up to just by tracing my footsteps around my casino?”

“It’s not hard to see that you’re hiding something?”

“I’m hiding something?” Seokmin nodded. “Joshua tells you nothing?”

Seokmin was confused by this. There was something Joshua didn’t tell him?

“I’m trying to help you. I’m not doing shit. I know the shit Joshua could do to me if I decided to pull some elaborate fucking stunt. I know how he works. I’m not kept in the dark.”

“I find that hard to believe, Yukhei. You’re helping? Why the hell do you walk around like you know more than anyone in this building?”

“Because apparently, I do!” Yukhei took a step away from Seokmin. He held the venomous look. “If you think I have the balls to do some bad shit to Joshua while he’s here in my building, while he has every torture method available under lock and key for me, you think I’m going to go running around and screaming to the world that I have the both of you in hiding?”

“How is being secretive about anything helping?”

“I was told not to tell the rest of the team, but it says something that Joshua didn’t even tell you. I’m trying to help you. Stop thinking I’m going to murder everyone in your sleep.”

“Why should I believe you?”

Yukhei gained on Seokmin very quickly and spoke loudly. “If I had a fucking death wish, I would have turned all of you away. It says something that you are here right now. I wasn’t doing shit just now except tying up some loose ends to help you.”

“Loose ends?”

“Jesus Christ, for a former detective, you really don’t know anything. You don’t bother to ask Joshua anything? You think that he is just going to tell you? You believe everything that he tells you is all there is to it?”

Seokmin said nothing. Yukhei took a step back, the anger wasn’t draining from his face, however. He then brought his voice down to a whisper, but stepped no closer to Seokmin.

“I know you think you’re all high and mighty after our first meeting, but the fact that I have the power to shut down the witch hunt for the thirteen of you, and I’m going through with it, and you don’t even know about it, it says a lot about your actual place here.”

Yukhei walked past Seokmin and pout back the door he came in through, and Seokmin could only stand, dumb founded. He had no more words. He was left with only questions, ones that he assumed only one person could give him the answer to.

“What is going on?” Seokmin asked Joshua later that night when he returned to the room. Joshua had retired the robe, as it was hanging from the pipe on the wall, and he was sitting up on the bed, his lower body underneath the sheets.

“What do you mean? Still hung up on Yukhei?”

Seokmin inhaled and proceeded to unbutton his shirt, ready to sleep his stress off.

“He told me shit today. Told me shit that you didn’t tell me.” Joshua didn’t seem surprised by this news. “Why am I being left in the dark?”

“It’s not that you’re being left in the dark, it’s just-”

“No, it is.” Seokmin turned around, now bare chested. “There’s things that I could know about that I don’t. If Yukhei is really a good guy, I look like an ass walking around claiming that he’s going to fuck us all over. But I wouldn’t know that.”

Joshua sat up further. “Yukhei is helping us. He has connections that I don’t. I promise you, Seokmin. He’s not going to hurt us. While he does have those connections, I have what could hurt him in the end if he goes back on his word.” Seokmin didn’t reply, but Joshua could see he was calming down. “To be totally honest with you, even I don’t know what he has in store. He gave me his full, 100% word that he was going to take care of things. Whether it be now or in a few weeks, he is going to help us. I know this much is true.”

Seokmin knew Joshua was never one to let him down. Joshua knew that Seokmin knew that. Seokmin couldn’t help his natural instinct to feel safe around Joshua, to feel protected. As weary as he might have been, and remained, Seokmin decided to say no more about not trusting Yukhei.

It was 1PM on a Wednesday. Seokmin was walking around on the empty floor, the sunlight warming his skin. There were a few scattered team members doing random things on the empty floor, the ones he saw were the ones who usually stayed sheltered when the night life arose.

He leaned on a banister, listening to their laughter, wondering how exactly they stayed so happy when the people they saw were some of the lowest. Seokmin wished for a second that he was that young again. Not having to deal with all of this at once. Not having to-

His thoughts were cut off by a large hand on his shoulder. He didn’t turn around to see who it was.

“If you still think I’m fucking you over, you should see this.” Seokmin turned his head to see Yukhei already leaving his position behind Seokmin, and he had no choice but to follow. Technically he did, but he wouldn’t know what to do next if he didn’t. He followed Yukhei through corridors and then they entered a room. It looked like an office, a large flat screen was mounted on the wall in front of them, and it seemed most of the team was already here minus the ones who were out on the game floor.

Seokmin had no idea what was going on, but when Joshua gave a nod to Yukhei and he didn’t seem worried at all, Seokmin relaxed his shoulders and looked to Yukhei. Yukhei had just switched on the TV and turned back around. It was the news, the local news from their old location.

“I’ve had one brief meeting with all of you—some of you.” He looked at Seokmin. He didn’t break his gaze. “When time after this settles down, you’ll be able to move about, but it’s not certain you could ever return to where you’re all from.” Yukhei looked over his shoulder once, then back. This was when the rest of the crew walked in. “To all of you who have families outside of this group, I’m sorry for any harm inflicted on them. But once this is over, your cases are all dropped. They won’t be searching high and low for you anymore.”

“What do you mean harm? Is someone going to hurt them?” Seokmin recognized Chan speaking from behind him. He sounded confused, much like everyone in the room.

“No one is hurting them. It just might be their loss that hurts them.” No one asked anything else, even though Seokmin assumed they wanted to.

Yukhei moved out of the way and suddenly everyone’s attention was on the TV, the news, and the sudden newscaster that appeared onscreen.

“A few hours ago, police and firemen were on a scene of a massive fire that broke out in the rural area that is home to the country’s richest. A mansion caught fire and was burning for almost 30 minutes before responders showed up to the scene. We have received reports of the damage, casualties, and more.

“The mansion belonged to none other than the late Yejun Hong, and we all recall seeing this house on the news not that long ago when the widowed Jisoo Hong was framed for murder and had escaped. The cause of the fire is still unknown, and investigators are still tracking this down. When the fire was put out, almost nothing remained of the grand house. Towers and towers of rubble and debris were sifted through for almost two hours, and the results were shocking.

“Twelve bodies were pulled from the mass of ash, burned and mangled beyond recognition, however they were all wearing remains of items that belonged to people who were said to live in the house. Their DNA was far too gone for any identification, and the bodies are therefore believed to belong to Jisoo Hong and his housekeeping staff.

“It is unknown as to-” Suddenly, the newscaster stopped speaking, as they were getting information from a source that could not be seen on screen. There was mumbling, and the speaker looked confused before turning back to face the camera. “We are suddenly getting word that not twelve, but thirteen bodies have been uncovered from the scene of destruction. The thirteenth body, who carried a badge of the local police department, held an ID of Seokmin Lee.

“Recalling that Seokmin Lee had fled from the department after supposedly saving the twelve from going to jail for murder and assisting in murder, and the department had been tracking him as well as Hong. We have the chief of police on the scene.” The video cut, and Seokmin’s throat closed at the sight of his chief, who he wished he never had to see again.

“We don’t know how they got in the house, we have the place tracked and surrounded. We don’t know how they got in, we don’t know how they have been receiving supplies to live, we don’t know how long they were there.” He sighed. “We don’t know much now except for the thirteen of them are dead and unable to testify for anything that happened prior to this—this whole thing is just a mystery. We cannot do anything else further except to close all cases related to this. This was a fail from the police department, and we are striving to never let it happen again.”

This was when Yukhei shut the TV off, and he turned back to everyone. “Again, I had the ability to set this up carefully, make sure it went through with no kinks in the operation. I did this because, not only was I asked to save your asses, because most of you are young and it sucks to have a whole line of police on your backs. The cases are closed, let more time go by before you leave. As far as they know, you’re all dead now.”

He made a motion with his hand and everyone evacuated the room, some more slowly than others. Seokmin was in shock. Yukhei was trying to help them, Yukhei did help them, and he did it flawlessly. Seokmin almost felt bad now, but not entirely, as Yukhei still looked at him funny sometimes.

Back home, everyone thinks he is dead. His police department, what remained of his family, anyone who he has helped before, think he is dead. He wants to know how Yukhei pulled this off, but at the same time, he could sleep better at night not knowing.

No one seemed to be upset by this. Everyone seemed to be happy at the thought that they could finally be free, they could finally trek outside without prying eyes wondering why they look so familiar. Everyone was smiling and in awe, except one.

Seokmin saw Chan standing alone. He was leaning over the banister, one knee bent in, looking a little weak. Seokmin approached him.

“You okay, kid?”

Chan laughed, lacking humor. “I still have family.” He let out a shaky breath. “They think I’m dead now. I’ll never see them again.” Seokmin stood straight and watched Chan. “I think I’m the only one with family, still. Most of us here, their family situations were rough. Their families were ready to let them live away from home, and some were old enough that they didn’t have to ask. I know most of them didn’t have it like I did. There was nothing wrong with how I was brought up. I love my family. They think I’m dead, and murderer now.” His hands were shaking. Seokmin didn’t move to comfort him. “I regret coming here. I should have said no to Joshua. I should have not come.” He shook his head and stood up straight.

“You can go back one day, kid. Keep it on the down low that you want to leave when the time comes, but you can go soon.” Chan said nothing, but Seokmin pat him on the shoulder once and walked away.

The sky never seemed so bright as it did right now. Seokmin walked down to the center of the game floor and looked up. The sky was crystalline blue, puffs of clouds rolling by every now and then, the chandeliers sent light in every direction.

He looked around and saw everyone doing their own thing. He didn’t see Chan anymore, but he saw the other young ones laughing by a table over a plate of some appetizer they ordered. The older ones kept to themselves, went back to their rooms, but Seokmin saw the smile on their faces as they left.  Seokmin looked all the way up and saw Joshua leaning over the railing, smiling down at Seokmin. His black hair looked soft in the light, and Seokmin knew he was smitten. He didn’t doubt himself anymore, he knew it was because of Joshua that he was here. It was because of Joshua that he knew he was in the right spot, albeit his supposed persona now charred. He felt no remorse. He felt no sickness, no grief. Seokmin smiled. He felt like an emperor.

It wasn’t from the top, Seokmin realized, that he felt like a king. It was standing in the middle of it all where he knew he belonged.

**Author's Note:**

> this was a ride to write. It took me over a month, maybe over two months to write this because i went through some tough times and some really smooth times where i wrote thousands in one sitting, and im sorry for the about five month wait. i want to thank all of my readers i am so so happy that i have people reading and loving my fanfics because writing is what i love to do and i love that you love it!! i had no idea that i would come this far with this fic when i started writing the hanged man as a joke, but i am glad it did, it improved so much of my writing skills and my patience because ive never taken two months on something??  
> literally thank all of you for reading this because if no one read this i wouldn't have even made a second one and the fact that people told me they loved them both made me write this one.  
> again, much much love from me to u, this is the final piece of the hanged man trilogy, thank you everyone for loving it.  
> follow me on twitter to tell me how much you love it or hate it @_ilstagram  
> thank you :3c


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